Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/bykъ

This Proto-Slavic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Slavic

Etymology

Unclear, but likely of onomatopoeic origin. Akin to Lithuanian bucêt (“to sound, to buzz”), Latvian bukti (“to moo”), bukas (“bittern”) and further to Welsh bugad (“lowing, bellowing”).

Comparable also to Proto-Turkic *buka (“bull”), Mongolian буга (buga, “reindeer”), Hungarian bök (“to poke”).

Noun

*bỹkъ m

1. bull

Declension

Declension of *bỹkъ (hard o-stem, accent paradigm b)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*bỹkъ	*bȳkà	*bȳcì
genitive	*bȳkà	*bȳkù	*bỹkъ
dative	*bȳkù	*bȳkòma	*bȳkòmъ
accusative	*bỹkъ	*bȳkà	*bȳkỳ
instrumental	*bȳkъ̀mь, *bȳkòmь*	*bȳkòma	*bỹky
locative	*bȳcě̀	*bȳkù	*bỹcěxъ
vocative	*byče	*bȳkà	*bȳcì

^* -ъmь in North Slavic, -omь in South Slavic.

Derived terms

• *byčę (“bullock”)
• *byčьje (“bull-ralted”)
• *byčьkъ
• *byčina
• *bykovъ (“bovine”)
  • *bykovica (“bulrush”)
  • *bykovina (“bulrush”)

Related terms

• *bukati (“to thump, to moo”)
• *buxati (“to paddle”)
• *bučati (“to roar, to ramp”)
• *byčati (“to prick, to clatter”)
• *bykati (“to overthrow, to knock down”)

See also

• *bьčela (“bee”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: бꙑкъ (bykŭ)
    • Old Ruthenian: быкъ (byk)
      • Belarusian: бык (byk)
      • Carpathian Rusyn: бык (bŷk)
      • Ukrainian: бик (byk)
    • Russian: бык (byk), быкъ (byk) — Pre-reform orthography (1918)
      • → Komi-Zyrian: бык (byk)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic: бꙑкъ (bykŭ)
  • Bulgarian: бик (bik)
  • Macedonian: бик (bik)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: би̏к

    Latin script: bȉk

  • Slovene: bȉk (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: býk
  • Kashubian: byk
  • Polish: byk
  • Slovak: býk
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: byk
    • Lower Sorbian: byk

• → Yiddish: ביק (bik)

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “бык”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Chernykh, P. Ja. (1993) “бык”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), 3rd edition, volume 1 (а – пантомима), Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 128
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1976), “*bykъ”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 3 (*bratrьcь – *cьrky), Moscow: Nauka, page 147
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “бик”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 47