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Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/němъ

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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

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Etymology

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  • From dissimilation of earlier *měmъ and so cognate to Latvian mēms (dumb, mute, silent).
Such words as Old Polish omienieć (to become dumb), Latin mūtus (mute, dumb, silent), Ancient Greek μῖμος (mîmos, mime, actor) and Germanic onomatopoeic forms (German mummeln, English mumble, Swedish mumla) may look similar, but regular derivation of these words from a common root appears to be phonologically impossible.
Compare *ku- + *jьm-, *jьmǫ, *ęti > *kujьmъ (> Russian ку́и́м (kúím, deaf-mute; tongue-tied man; silent man;)). Latvian mēms is possibly borrowing from Slavic with assimilation n-m > m-m.

Adjective

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*němъ

  1. unclear or incomprehensible speaker, muttering, mammering
  2. dumb, mute (not able to speak)

Declension

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Other:

References

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  • Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “немой”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
  • Chernykh, P. Ja. (1993) “немой”, 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 568
  • Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1999), “*němъ(jь)”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 25 (*neroditi – *novotьnъ(jь)), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 100