Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/blęsti

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 edit

Etymology edit

Per Fraenkel, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *blenstei, typically derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlendʰ- (“to blend, to stir”). Baltic cognates include Lithuanian blę̃sti (“to add ingredients and stir; to babble nonsense”), possibly Latvian bliêzt (“to struggle to perceive”).

Alternative hypotheses suggest expressive or onomatopoeic origin:

Machek: Related to Lithuanian blódėti (“to babble”), Latvian bladēt (“id.”), possible also Ancient Greek φλέδων (phlédōn, “babbler”), φληνύω (phlēnúō, “to babble”) (per Beekes, probably of Pre-Greek origin).
Seebold: From Proto-Indo-European *mlendʰ-, an extention of *(s)mel- (“false, erroneous”) (whence Lithuanian mẽlas (“lie”)) or *melh₂- (“to grind”).

Verb edit

*blęstì^[1]^[2]^[3]

(perhaps originally) to blend words → to confuse, to perplex
to talk nonsense
to err, to deceive (with words)

Conjugation edit

Conjugation of *blęsti, *blęde, *blędetь (impf., intr., -C-, _/ox-aorist, accent paradigm c)

Verbal noun	Infinitive	Supine	L-participle
*blędenьje	*blęsti	*blęstъ	*blędlъ

	Participles
Tense	Past	Present
Passive	—	—
Active	*blędъ	*blędy

	Aorist			Present
Person	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd
Singular	*blęd(ox)ъ	*blęde	*blęde	*blędǫ	*blędeši	*blędetь
Dual	*blęd(ox)ově	*blęd(e/os)ta	*blęd(e/os)te	*blędevě	*blędeta	*blędete
Plural	*blęd(ox)omъ	*blęd(e/os)te	blędǫ, blędošę	*blędemъ	*blędete	*blędǫtь
	Imperfect			Imperative
Person	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd
Singular	*blęděaxъ	*blęděaše	*blęděaše	—	*blędi	*blędi
Dual	*blęděaxově	*blęděašeta	*blęděašete	*blęděvě	*blęděta	—
Plural	*blęděaxomъ	*blęděašete	*blęděaxǫ	*blęděmъ	*blęděte	—

Related terms edit

Proto-Slavic terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰlendʰ-‎ (0 c, 8 e)

Derived terms edit

*blędati (“to cause commotion, confusion”)
*blędь (“deception”)
- *blędoslovьje (“blathering”), *blędina (“nonsense”)
- *blędьnъ (“deceptive”)
*blędostь (“falsehood, deceptiveness”)
*blędìvъ(jь) (“babbling, blathering”)

Descendants edit

East Slavic:
- Old East Slavic: блѧсти (blęsti)
  - Old Ukrainian: блѧсти (bljasti) (early 17th cent.)^[4]
South Slavic:
- Old Church Slavonic:
  Old Cyrillic script: блѧсти (blęsti)
  
  Glagolitic script: ⰱⰾⱔⱄⱅⰺ (blęsti)
  - ⇒? Bulgarian: бле́щя (bléštja, “to talk nonsense”) (dialectal)
- Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic script: блести (obsolete)
  
  Latin script: blesti (obsolete)
- Slovene: blésti
West Slavic:
- Old Czech: blésti
- Polish: blęść (dialectal)

References edit

^ Derksen, Rick (2008) “*blęsti”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 44: “v. ‘talk nonsense, err’”
^ Olander, Thomas (2001) “blędǫ blęsti(?)”, in Common Slavic Accentological Word List‎^[1], Copenhagen: Editiones Olander: “c tage fejl (PR 139)”
^ Snoj, Marko (2016) “blesti”, in Slovenski etimološki slovar [Slovenian Etymology Dictionary] (in Slovene), 3rd edition, https://fran.si: “Pslovan. *blęsti̋, sed. *blę̑dǫ”
^ Hrynchyshyn, D. H., editor (1994), “блѧсти”, in Словник української мови XVI – 1-ї пол. XVII ст. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language of 16ᵗʰ – 1ˢᵗ half of 17ᵗʰ c.] (in Ukrainian), numbers 2 (б – богуславецъ), Lviv: KIUS, →ISBN, page 130

[1] Derksen, Rick (2008) “*blęsti”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 44: “v. ‘talk nonsense, err’”

[2] Olander, Thomas (2001) “blędǫ blęsti(?)”, in Common Slavic Accentological Word List‎^[1], Copenhagen: Editiones Olander: “c tage fejl (PR 139)”

[3] Snoj, Marko (2016) “blesti”, in Slovenski etimološki slovar [Slovenian Etymology Dictionary] (in Slovene), 3rd edition, https://fran.si: “Pslovan. *blęsti̋, sed. *blę̑dǫ”

[4] Hrynchyshyn, D. H., editor (1994), “блѧсти”, in Словник української мови XVI – 1-ї пол. XVII ст. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language of 16ᵗʰ – 1ˢᵗ half of 17ᵗʰ c.] (in Ukrainian), numbers 2 (б – богуславецъ), Lviv: KIUS, →ISBN, page 130

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