Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/gatъka

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

By surface analysis, *gatati (“to tell, to guess”) +‎ *-ъka. Ultimately, perhaps a diminutive of Proto-Indo-European *g⁽ʷ⁾eh₃th₂ós (“proverb”) + *-ъka, cognate with Proto-Indo-Iranian *gaHtʰás (“hymn”).

Noun

*gatъka f

1. riddle, cryptic parable

   Synonym: *zagadъka

Declension

Declension of *gatъka (hard a-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*gatъka	*gatъcě	*gatъky
genitive	*gatъky	*gatъku	*gatъkъ
dative	*gatъcě	*gatъkama	*gatъkamъ
accusative	*gatъkǫ	*gatъcě	*gatъky
instrumental	*gatъkojǫ, *gatъkǫ**	*gatъkama	*gatъkami
locative	*gatъcě	*gatъku	*gatъkasъ, *gatъkaxъ*
vocative	*gatъko	*gatъcě	*gatъky

^* -asъ is the expected Balto-Slavic form but is found only in some Old Czech documents; -axъ is found everywhere else and is formed by analogy with other locative plurals in -xъ.
^** The second form occurs in languages that contract early across /j/ (e.g. Czech), while the first form occurs in languages that do not (e.g. Russian).

Derived terms

• *gatъkati (“to speak crypticly”)

Related terms

• *gatanьje, *gatanъka (“riddle”) (verbal nouns)
• *gatva (“proverb”) (East Slavic)

Descendants

• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic: гатъка (gatŭka) (Russian rendition)
    • → Old East Slavic: гатъками бесѣдовати (gatŭkami besědovati, “to converse in cryptic manner”) (XII cent.)
  • Bulgarian: га́тка (gátka) (dialectal)
  • Macedonian: гатка (gatka)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: га̑тка, га̏тка

    Latin script: gȃtka, gȁtka

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1979), “*gatъka”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков (in Russian), numbers 6 (*e – *golva), Moscow: Nauka, page 105