< Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic
Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/bala
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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
Uncertain:
- Most likely a cognate of Proto-Germanic *pōlaz (“pool”), possibly Sanskrit जम्बाल (jambāla, “clay”); perhaps from a substrate language[1]. May be related to Proto-Turkic *balkas (“tussock in a swamp”), whence the name of lake Balkaš.
- In the past, has been compared to Lithuanian balà (“swamp”), balùtė (“puddle”), Latvian bala (“loamy meadow, marsh”), Sudovian bala (attested in toponyms) typically linked to Proto-Slavic *bolto (“swamp, mud”), from formally unrelated Proto-Indo-European *bʰelH- (“to shine”). Dismissed as potential cognates by Smoczyński.
- Marusenko (in regard to the Russian/Ukrainian descendants) proposes native back-formation from Proto-Slavic *obaliti (“to submerge, to collapse”) < *ob-valiti.
Compare also superficial homophone Ukrainian ба́ла (bála, “enchanting”) (< *badla), related to Proto-Slavic *balagovati (“to mumble”), *balakati (“to babble, to make noise”) (whence dial. Bulgarian бала́кам (balákam, “to play in water”)).
Declension
Declension of *bala (hard a-stem)
| singular | dual | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | *bala | *balě | *baly |
| genitive | *baly | *balu | *balъ |
| dative | *balě | *balama | *balamъ |
| accusative | *balǫ | *balě | *baly |
| instrumental | *balojǫ, *balǫ** | *balama | *balami |
| locative | *balě | *balu | *balasъ, *balaxъ* |
| vocative | *balo | *balě | *baly |
* -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).
** 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).
Related terms
- *baly (probably)
- ⇒ Czech: balviště (“large pond”)
- ⇒ Slovene: balovína (“feather grass”)
Descendants
From augmentative *bališče:
- East Slavic:
- Ukrainian: ба́лище (bályšče, “depression, drainage”) (dialectal)
Further reading
- Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1974), “*balъka”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 1 (*a – *besědьlivъ), Moscow: Nauka, page 149
- Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “балакам”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volumes 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 28
- “bala”, in Lietuvių kalbos etimologinio žodyno duomenų bazė [Lithuanian etymological dictionary database], 2007–2012
References
- Matasović, Ranko (2013) “Substratum words in Balto-Slavic”, in Filologija, volume 60, Zagreb, published 2014, page 83 of 75–102: “PSl. *balъka ‘ravine, pool’”
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