Etymologically
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бꙑти

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Forms

бꙑти (byti) impf or pf, Glagolitic ⰱⱏⰹⱅⰻ[1] Present ѥсмь, ѥси, negated нѣсмь; perfective present and future бѫдѫ; aorist бꙑхъ, бꙑстъ; imperfect бѣхъ; conditional бимь; participles сꙑ, бꙑвъ and бꙑлъ.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *byti (“to be”), found in all the Slavic languages.[4][5][1] The same word is Russian быть (bytʹ), Serbo-Croatian biti, Slovene bíti, Czech být, Polish być, Upper Sorbian być and Lower Sorbian byś.[4][6][5]

The Proto-Slavic verb comes from Proto-Balto-Slavic *bū́ˀtei, from the root Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-, which ESJS glosses “to grow, to come into being”;[4][1][5] Derksen writes it *bʰHu-, following Kortlandt and Schrijver.[4][1][5] Its Baltic relatives are Lithuanian bū́ti (“to be”) and Latvian bût (“to be”), and further cognates are Sanskrit भवति (bhávati, “becomes, is”), Ancient Greek φύομαι (phúomai, “to grow, become”), Latin fuī (“I was”), Old Irish buith (“being”), Old High German būan (“to dwell, cultivate”) and the English word be.[4][7][6][5][1] ESJS notes that Slavic mostly has the zero grade of the root, and that the old sense “grow” survives in the plant name бꙑльѥ.[4]

The verb is suppletive: its present ѥсмь continues a different root, *h₁ésti, the source of Sanskrit अस्ति (ásti, “is”), Latin sum (“I am”) and Ancient Greek εἰμί (eimí, “I am”), while the infinitive and the other forms continue *bʰuH-.[1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

All the canonical manuscripts use the verb, which the SNSP counts more than 7,000 times, for Ancient Greek εἶναι (eînai) and, in the perfective, Ancient Greek γίγνομαι (gígnomai).[2][3] In the Gospel of John it gives Philip's home town: бѣ же филипъ отъ видсаꙇдьска града “now Philip was from the town of Bethsaida” (J 1, 45 Zogr Mar As Sav).[2]

Semantic evolution

Besides “to be, to exist, to stay”, the imperfective uses include еже естъ “that is, which means” (Mc 7, 11), possession with the dative or with оу (тѣхъ естъ цѣсарьство небесьное “theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, Mt 5, 3), and necessity with the dative and an infinitive.[2][3] The perfective forms mean “to happen, to come about”, as in бꙑстъ for ἐγένετο.[2][3] The verb is also the copula and the auxiliary of the perfect and pluperfect with the participle in -лъ, and of the conditional with бимь.[2][1] Schumann counts the sense “to stay, remain” for εἶναι, as in Mt 2, 13 of the Codex Assemanianus, among the Greek semantic loans.[8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To be, exist; to stay, remain; for εἶναι, ὑπάρχειν, μένειν.[3][2][1]
  2. еже естъ: that is, which means.[2]
  3. With the dative or оу: to belong to, to have.[2][3]
  4. With the dative and an infinitive: to have to, to be about to.[2]
  5. (perfective) To happen, come about, become; for γίγνεσθαι.[3][2]
  6. (copula) To be.[2][1]
  7. (auxiliary) With the participle in -лъ, forming the perfect, pluperfect and future perfect;[1][2][3] бимь forms the conditional.[1][2][3]

Word family

  • бꙑтьѥ
  • добꙑти
  • забꙑти
  • забꙑть
  • забꙑтьливъ
  • избꙑти
  • избꙑтъкъ
  • прибꙑти
  • прибꙑтъкъ
  • прѣбꙑти
  • събꙑти
  • бꙑвати
  • избꙑтъчьствовати
  • избꙑтъковати
  • забꙑвати
  • избꙑвати
  • прибꙑвати
  • прѣбꙑвати
  • бꙑльѥ
  • Russian быть (bytʹ)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Slovník nejstarších staroslověnských památek (digital ed., Gorazd, Slovanský ústav AV ČR, gorazd.org); cf. Cejtlin, R. M.; Večerka, R.; Blagova, É. (eds.) (1994), Staroslavjanskij slovar' (po rukopisjam X–XI vekov), Moskva: Russkij jazyk
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kurz, Josef; Hauptová, Zoe (eds.) (1958–1997), Slovník jazyka staroslověnského / Lexicon linguae palaeoslovenicae, 4 vols. + supplements, Praha: Academia; digital ed. gorazd.org
  4. ^ a b c d e f Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 88–89
  5. ^ a b c d e f Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 71
  6. ^ a b Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 1, 260
  7. ^ Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 219
  8. ^ Schumann, Kurt (1958), Die griechischen Lehnbildungen und Lehnbedeutungen im Altbulgarischen, Veröffentlichungen der Abteilung für slavische Sprachen und Literaturen des Osteuropa-Instituts an der Freien Universität Berlin 16, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 30