Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/česati

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 *késtei, from Proto-Indo-European *kes-.

Verb

*česàti

1. to scratch (one's head)
2. to comb (one's hair or a horse)
3. to card (tess.)

Inflection

Conjugation of *česati, *česa, *češetь (?, -a/j-, s-aorist, accent paradigm b)

Verbal noun	Infinitive	Supine	L-participle
*česanьje	*česati	*česatъ	*česalъ

	Participles
Tense	Past	Present
Passive	*česanъ	*češemъ
Active	*česavъ	*češę

	Aorist			Present
Person	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd
Singular	*česaxъ	*česa	*česa	*češǫ	*češeši	*češetь
Dual	*česaxově	*česasta	*česaste	*češevě	*češeta	*češete
Plural	*česaxomъ	*česaste	*česašę	*češemъ	*češete	*češǫtь
	Imperfect			Imperative
Person	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd
Singular	*česaaxъ	*česaaše	*česaaše	—	*češi	*češi
Dual	*česaaxově	*česaašeta	*česaašete	*češivě	*češita	—
Plural	*česaaxomъ	*česaašete	*česaaxǫ	*češimъ	*češite	—

Derived terms

• *česmìnъ / *česmìna
• *česnъ (“garlic”)
• *česadlo (“comb, scratcher”)
• *česalъka (“tool for scratching”)
• *česanъ (“combed”)

Related terms

• *kasati (“to touch? to trot? to fold?”)
• *kosa (“(braided) hair”)
• *kosmъ (“lock of hair, tuft”)
• *kosnǫti (“to touch?”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: чесати (česati)
    • Belarusian: часа́ць (časácʹ)
    • Russian: чеса́ть (česátʹ)
    • Ukrainian: чеса́ти (česáty)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: чесати (česati)

    Glagolitic script: ⱍⰵⱄⰰⱅⰻ (česati)

  • Bulgarian: че́ша (čéša)
  • Macedonian: чеша (češa)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: чѐшати

    Latin script: čèšati

  • Slovene: česáti (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: česati
    • Czech: česat
  • Kashubian: czosac
  • Polabian: cesăt
  • Old Polish: czosać
    • Polish: czesać
  • Slovak: česať
  • Slovincian: czôsac
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: česać
    • Lower Sorbian: cesaś

Further reading

• Chernykh, P. Ja. (1993) “чеса́ть”, 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 385
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1977), “*česati”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 4 (*čaběniti – *děľa), Moscow: Nauka, page 85
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “чеса́ть”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress