Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/sěťi

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

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *sektei, from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”), with unexplained -ě-. Cognate with Latin secō (“to cut, to mow”). Explanations for the -ě- vary:

• Rix (LIV) reconstructs an acrodynamic (Narten) present *sēk-. (In the Leiden school view of Derksen and Kortlandt, this would not yield the required acute vowel.)
• Kortlandt asserts that the vowel of *sěkti was lengthened to disambiguate the verb from the root preserved in Lithuanian sèkti (“to watch, to follow”), Proto-Slavic *sočiti (“to pursue, to indicate”) < Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ-.
• Derksen notes that the short root vowel is preserved in секыра (sekyra, “axe”).

Verb

*sěťi impf

1. to cut, mow

Inflection

Conjugation of *sěťi, *sěče, *sěčetь (impf., -C-, _/ox-aorist, accent paradigm c)

Verbal noun	Infinitive	Supine	L-participle
*sěčenьje	*sěťi	*sěťь	*sěklъ

	Participles
Tense	Past	Present
Passive	*sěčenъ	*sěkomъ
Active	*sěkъ	*sěky

	Aorist			Present
Person	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd
Singular	*sěk(ox)ъ	*sěče	*sěče	*sěkǫ	*sěčeši	*sěčetь
Dual	*sěk(ox)ově	*sěk(e/os)ta	*sěk(e/os)te	*sěčevě	*sěčeta	*sěčete
Plural	*sěk(ox)omъ	*sěk(e/os)te	*sěkǫ, *sěkošę	*sěčemъ	*sěčete	*sěkǫtь
	Imperfect			Imperative
Person	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd
Singular	*sěčaaxъ	*sěčaaše	*sěčaaše	—	*sěci	*sěci
Dual	*sěčaaxově	*sěčaašeta	*sěčaašete	*sěcěvě	*sěcěta	—
Plural	*sěčaaxomъ	*sěčaašete	*sěčaaxǫ	*sěcěmъ	*sěcěte	—

Notes:
• Aorist *sěkeste ⇒ *sěčeste, ...

Derived terms

• *sěčivo
• *prosěťi
  • *prosěkъ, *prosěka (“clearing”)

Related terms

• *sekyra (“axe”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: сѣчи (sěči)
    • Belarusian: сячы́ (sjačý)
    • Russian: се́чь (séčʹ)
    • Ukrainian: сікти́ (siktý)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Cyrillic: сѣщи (sěšti)

    Glagolitic: ⱄⱑⱋⰹ (sěšti)

  • Bulgarian: сека́ (seká)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: се̏ћи, сје̏ћи

    Latin: sȅći, sjȅći

  • Slovene: sẹ́či (tonal orthography) (archaic)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: sieci
    • Czech: síci, síct
  • Polabian: sect
  • Polish: siec
  • Slovak: sekať
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: syc
    • Lower Sorbian: sec

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “секу”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Chernykh, P. Ja. (1993) “сечь”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), 3rd edition, volume 2 (панцирь – ящур), Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 159