Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/či

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-Indo-European *kʷéy, initially instrumental singular of pronoun *kʷo-/*kʷe-; compare Latin qui, Avestan 𐬗𐬌𐬱 (ciš), Old Saxon hwi.

Conjunction

*či

1. if, whether
2. or

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: чи (či)
    • Belarusian: ці (ci); also чы (in dialects and Ruthenian)
    • Russian: чи (či) (West or South Russia, Ukraine)
    • Ukrainian: чи (čy)
• South Slavic:
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Latin script: či, če

    Cyrillic script: чи, че

  • Slovene: če
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: či
    • Czech: či
  • Old Polish: czy
    • Masurian: cÿ
    • Polish: czy
    • Silesian: czy, czi (Cieszyn Silesia)
  • Slovak: či
  • Polabian: cĕ
  • Pomeranian:
    • Kashubian: czë

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1977), “*či”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 4 (*čaběniti – *děľa), Moscow: Nauka, page 109