Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Old Church Slavonic word излѣсти

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Codex Zographensis and Codex Marianus (Gospels), Savvina kniga, Codex Suprasliensis
Ultimate origin
Proto-Slavic *lězti

Forms

излѣсти (izlěsti) pf, first person singular излѣзѫ, second person singular излѣзеши[1]

Etymology

It is from Old Church Slavonic из- (iz-) + лѣсти (lěsti, “to crawl, climb”), a prefixed form of the simple verb лѣсти, which Miklosich's lexicon records.[2] ESJS groups with it възлѣсти, вълѣсти, сълѣсти and прѣлѣсти, and the iterative лазити with another ablaut grade of the root.[2]

The simple verb is Proto-Slavic *lězti (“to crawl, climb”), the source of Russian лезть (leztʹ), Serbo-Croatian ljȅsti, Slovene lẹ́sti, Czech lézt and Polish leźć.[2][3] Its nearest relatives are Baltic: Old Prussian līse (“crawls”), Latvian lẽzêt (“to slide”) and lēzns (“flat”), and Lithuanian lė̃kštas (“flat”).[2][3][4] ESJS derives it from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to crawl on the ground, low”) and compares Old Norse lágr (“low”), while the relation to Greek λαχύς (lakhús) is uncertain.[2][4] Derksen reconstructs instead Proto-Balto-Slavic *leʔź- and *leh₁ǵʰ-.[3]

Pokorny and Bezlaj considered a connection with the root of лежати, and Vaillant derived the verb directly from it, through a development from moving while lying to crawling.[2] Kurkina, followed by ESJS, explains the lengthened vowel of the root from an old perfect, as in сѣдѣти.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Gospels of the Zographensis and the Marianus it is used for getting out of a boat: излѣзъ ис корабля петръ хождааше на водахъ “Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water” (Mt 14:29, Zogr Mar Sav, for Ancient Greek καταβαίνω (katabaínō)).[1]

Semantic evolution

In the Suprasliensis it is the usual verb for going out, for Ancient Greek ἐξέρχομαι (exérkhomai), as in Christ's call лазаре излѣзи вънъ “Lazarus, come out” (Supr 310:13), where the Gospels have other verbs.[1] The SJS also records it for an impure spirit leaving a person and for leaving life at death.[5] Dyachenko gives Russian Church Slavonic излѣсти the senses “to come down, go out” and “to make a sally, attack”, citing the Hypatian Chronicle for the second.[6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. to come out, go out, get out; for ἐξέρχεσθαι, ἐκβαίνειν.[5][1]
  2. to get out of a ship, disembark; for καταβαίνειν, ἀποβαίνειν.[1]

Word family

  • излѣзениѥ

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 259
  3. ^ a b c Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 261
  5. ^ a b Kurz, Josef; Hauptová, Zoe (eds.) (1958–1997), Slovník jazyka staroslověnského / Lexicon linguae palaeoslovenicae, 4 vols. + supplements, Praha: Academia; digital ed. gorazd.org
  6. ^ D'jačenko, Grigorij (1899), Polnyj cerkovno-slavjanskij slovar', Moskva
Cite this entry

“Излѣсти.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/cu/%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%BB%D1%A3%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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