Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/svatъ

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

PIE word
*swé

If Latgalian svõts (“relative”) is a cognate (rather than a borrowing), then perhaps both inherited from Proto-Balto-Slavic *swṓtas. Ultimately, from a t-extension of Proto-Indo-European *swé (“self”), whence also Lithuanian svetỹs, svẽčias (“guest”); Ancient Greek ἔτης (étēs, “clansman”).

Machek advocates for an original u-stem in view of related Old Czech svatvie (“wedlocking”) (< *svatvьje).

Noun

*svàtъ m

1. father of one of the newlyweds
2. (by generalization) wedder, matchmaker (attendant of a wedding)

   Synonym: *svatьbařь

Declension

Declension of *svatъ (hard o-stem, accent paradigm a)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*svatъ	*svàta	*svàti
genitive	*svàta	*svàtu	*svàtъ
dative	*svàtu	*svàtoma	*svàtomъ
accusative	*svatъ	*svàta	*svàty
instrumental	*svàtъmь, *svàtomь*	*svàtoma	*svàtȳ
locative	*svàtě	*svàtu	*svàtě̄xъ
vocative	*svàte	*svàta	*svàti

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

Derived terms

• *svati f, *svaxa f (feminine counterparts)
• *svatovati (“to wed”)
  • *svatovьstvo (“matchmaking”)
• *svatьba (“wedding”)
• *svatovъ
  • *svatovьnikъ m, *svatovьnica f (“matchmaker”)

Related terms

• *svojь (“own”)
  • *svojatъ (“intrinsic to oneself”)
• *svakъ (“uncle, male relative”)
• *svekrъ (“father-in-law”), *svekry (“mother-in-law”)
• *sětiti (“to attend, to visit”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: сватъ (svatŭ)
    • Belarusian: сват (svat)
    • Russian: сват (svat)
    • Ukrainian: сват (svat)
  • → Latvian: svāts
  • → Lithuanian: svõtas
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: сват (svat)
  • Macedonian: сват (svat)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: сва̏т

    Latin script: svȁt

  • Slovene: svȃt
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: svat
    • Czech: svat (obsolete, dialectal)
  • Polabian: swat
  • Old Polish: swat
    • Polish: swat
  • Slovak: svat
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: swat

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “сват”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Racheva, M., Todorov, T. A., editors (2002), “сват”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 6 (пỳскам – словàр²), Sofia: Prof. Marin Drinov Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 534
• “svečias”, in Lietuvių kalbos etimologinio žodyno duomenų bazė [Lithuanian etymological dictionary database], 2007–2012