Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/besěda

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

Analyzable as *be- +‎ *sědа (“setting”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”). The prefix is generally considered to reflect the original meaning of Proto-Slavic *be(z) (“without”), either conveying “exterior, outside” (per Vasmer) or “in complement” (per Snoj).

Further related to Proto-Germanic *hansō (“gathering, summoning, guild”), Latin cōnsidium (“meeting”), Sanskrit उपनिषद् (upaniṣad, “rite, meditation”).

Noun

*besě̀da m

1. (originally) sitting outdoors ⇒ gathering, symposium
2. conversation, discussion

Inflection

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

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*besě̀da	*besě̀dě	*besě̀dy
genitive	*besě̀dy	*besě̀du	*besě̀dъ
dative	*besě̀dě	*besě̀dama	*besě̀damъ
accusative	*besě̀dǫ	*besě̀dě	*besě̀dy
instrumental	*besě̀dojǫ, *besě̀dǭ**	*besě̀dama	*besě̀damī
locative	*besě̀dě	*besě̀du	*besě̀dasъ, *besě̀daxъ*
vocative	*besě̀do	*besě̀dě	*besě̀dy

^* -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

• *besědovati (“to converse”)
• *sъbesědьnikъ (“interlocutor”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: бесѣда (besěda)
    • Old Ruthenian: бесѣда (besěda)
      • Belarusian: бясе́да (bjasjéda)
      • Carpathian Rusyn: бе́сїда (bésjida)
      • Ukrainian: бе́сіда (bésida)
    • Russian: бесе́да (beséda)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: бесѣда (besěda)

    Glagolitic script: ⰱⰵⱄⱑⰴⰰ (besěda)

  • Bulgarian: бесе́да (beséda)
  • Macedonian: беседа (beseda)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: бѐседа, бѐсједа

    Latin script: bèseda, bèsjeda

    • Kajkavian: besida
  • Slovene: besẹ̑da (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: besěda
    • Czech: beseda
  • Old Polish: biesiada
    • Polish: biesiada
  • Old Slovak: beseda
    • Pannonian Rusyn: бешеда (bešeda)
    • Slovak: beseda

• Non-Slavic:
  • → Albanian: bisedë
  • → Hungarian: beszéd
  • → Romanian: beseadă

References

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “беседа”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “беседа”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 44