Etymologically
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лежати

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Forms

лежати (ležati) impf[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *ležati (“to lie”), a stative verb formed with the suffix *-ěti beside *leťi (“to lie down”), the source of OCS лещи.[2][1][3] ESJS treats лежати as the stative partner of лещи and counts both, with the causative and iterative verbs of the same root, among the words of all the Slavic languages.[3][4] The same word is Russian лежать (ležatʹ), Bulgarian лежа (leža), Serbo-Croatian lèžati, Slovene léžati, Czech ležeti and Polish leżeć.[5]

Vasmer derives Proto-Slavic *ležati from an older *legēti.[5] The root is Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie (down)”), which ESJS thinks first meant lying down rather than lying.[4][2][1] Its relatives are Ancient Greek λέχος (lékhos, “bed”), Latin lectus (“bed, couch”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽 (ligan, “to lie”) and Old High German liggen (“to lie”), whose stative verb matches the Slavic one, and Sadnik adds Ancient Greek ἄλοχος (álokhos, “wife”).[5][4][6] ESJS notes that Germanic and Slavic both formed many verbs from this root, so the match of the stative verbs need not be a common inheritance from Indo-European.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Gospels of the Zographensis and the Marianus it renders Ancient Greek κεῖμαι (keîmai) and its compounds, as in идеже бѣ отрочѧ лежѧ “where the child was lying” (Mc 5:40, for ἀνακείμενον).[7] Of the paralytic, отрокъ мои лежитъ въ домоу ослабленъ “my servant lies at home paralysed” (Mt 8:6, Zogr Mar As Sav).[8]

Semantic evolution

Besides lying in a horizontal position, the canonical texts use it for being or being found somewhere, as of names written in the holy books (Supr 21:14), and for being destined, as in се лежитъ сь на паданье и на въстанье многомъ “this one is set for the fall and rising of many” (L 2:34).[7][8] Schumann counts this last sense, for κεῖσθαι, as a semantic loan from Greek.[9] The phrases лежати ниць, лежати низъ and лежати долѣ render Greek expressions for lying face down or on the ground.[7] Giltebrandt's dictionary of the Church Slavonic New Testament lists it for κεῖσθαι, ἀποκεῖσθαι, ἐπικεῖσθαι and κατακεῖσθαι.[10]

Timeline

  • End of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century – лежати renders ἐγκεῖσθαι in the Euchologium Sinaiticum.[11]
  • 1882–1885 – Giltebrandt lists its New Testament uses for κεῖσθαι and its compounds.[10]

Meanings

Verb

  1. to lie, be in a horizontal position, recline; for κεῖσθαι, κατακεῖσθαι, ἀνακεῖσθαι.[7][8][1]
  2. to be, to exist, to be found somewhere; for κεῖσθαι.[7][8]
  3. to be destined, be set or laid down for something; for κεῖσθαι.[7][8][9]

Word family

  • надълежати
  • належати
  • облежати
  • прилежати
  • прилежаниѥ
  • сълежати
  • възлежати
  • прѣдълежати

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 408
  4. ^ a b c d Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 409
  5. ^ a b c Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 2, 475
  6. ^ Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 260
  7. ^ a b c d e f Kurz, Josef; Hauptová, Zoe (eds.) (1958–1997), Slovník jazyka staroslověnského / Lexicon linguae palaeoslovenicae, 4 vols. + supplements, Praha: Academia; digital ed. gorazd.org
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b 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
  10. ^ a b Gil'tebrandt, P. A. (1882–1885), Spravočnyj i ob''jasnitel'nyj slovar' k Novomu Zavetu, 6 vols., Sankt-Peterburg
  11. ^ SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de