Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/svati

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

*svatъ (“father of one of the newlyweds'”) +‎ *-i

Noun

*svàti f

1. feminine of *svatъ: mother of one of the newlyweds

Alternative forms

• *svatьja (reanalyzed at later times)

Declension

Declension of *svati (ī-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*svati	*svaťi	*svaťę̇
genitive	*svaťę̇	*svaťu	*svaťь
dative	*svaťi	*svaťama	*svaťamъ
accusative	*svaťǫ	*svaťi	*svaťę̇
instrumental	*svaťejǫ, *svaťǫ**	*svaťama	*svaťami
locative	*svaťi	*svaťu	*svaťasъ, *svaťaxъ*
vocative	*svaťe	*svaťi	*svaťę̇

^* -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

• *svatica (diminutive)

Related terms

• *svaxa (“honorable female relative (aunt or mother) of newlyweds”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Russian: сва́тья (svátʹja) (dialectal)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: сва́тя (svátja)
  • Macedonian: сваќа (svaḱa)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: сва̏ћа

    Latin script: svȁtja

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), “сватя”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 6 (пỳскам – словàр²), Sofia: Prof. Marin Drinov Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 535