Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/kositi

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

Reflects the causative Proto-Indo-European *kos-eyé-ti of Proto-Indo-European *ḱes- (“to castrate”)/*kes- (“to scratch, to comb”), equivalent to *kosъ (“skew, slanted”) +‎ *-iti. Possibly akin to Latin careō (“to lack, to be separated”), Latin castrō (“to castrate, to prune”).

Verb

*kosìti impf

1. to mow, to reap
2. to cut short, to shorten
3. to curve, to slant, to fold, to prepare for mowing

   (by abstraction) → to regret, to repent

Inflection

Conjugation of *kositi, *kosi, *kositь (impf., -i-, s-aorist, accent paradigm c)

Suffix: *-iti
― iterative (*nositi⇐*nesti)
― causative (*pojiti⇐*piti)
― ...

Verbal noun	Infinitive	Supine	L-participle
*košenьje	*kositi	*kositъ	*kosilъ

	Participles
Tense	Past	Present
Passive	*košenъ	*kosimъ
Active	*košь	*kosę

	Aorist			Present
Person	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd
Singular	*kosixъ	*kosi	*kosi	*košǫ	*kosiši	*kositь
Dual	*kosixově	*kosista	*kosiste	*kosivě	*kosita	*kosite
Plural	*kosixomъ	*kosiste	*kosišę	*kosimъ	*kosite	*kosętь
	Imperfect			Imperative
Person	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd
Singular	*košaaxъ	*košaaše	*košaaše	—	*kosi	*kosi
Dual	*košaaxově	*košaašeta	*košaašete	*kosivě	*kosita	—
Plural	*košaaxomъ	*košaašete	*košaaxǫ	*kosimъ	*kosite	—

Notes:
• (*)*kosivъ is a later doublet of the past active participle

Related terms

• *kosъ (“skew, slanted”)
• *xudъ (“weak, meager”)
• *kosa (“scythe”)
• *kosica (“scalpel, small chisel”)
• *kostrьcь (“perch (Perca fluviatilis)”)
• *kostьřava (“meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis)”)
• *kosturъ (“blade, knife without handle”)

Derived terms

• *kositьba (“mowing”)
• *kosьba (“mowing”)
• *kosišče (“mowing, haymaking”)
• *kosivo (“mowed grass, result of mowing”)
• *kosidlo (“sheaf ready for mowing”)
• *kosačь (“mower (agent)”)
• *kosьcь (“mower (agent/tool)”)
• *kosařь (“mower (agent)”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Belarusian: касі́ць (kasícʹ)
  • Russian: коси́ть (kosítʹ)
  • Ukrainian: коси́ти (kosýty)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic: косити (kositi)
  • Bulgarian: кося́ (kosjá), ко́ся (kósja) (in Western dialects)
  • Macedonian: коси (kosi)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: ко́сити

    Latin script: kósiti

  • Slovene: kosīti (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: kosit
  • Polish: kosić
  • Slovak: kosiť

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1983), “*kositi (I, II)”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 9 (*jьz – *klenьje), Moscow: Nauka, page 143
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1979), “кося”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 2 (и – крепя̀), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, page 668
• Snoj, Marko (2016) “kosīti”, in Slovenski etimološki slovar [Slovenian Etymology Dictionary] (in Slovene), 3rd edition, https://fran.si