ꙗсти

Forms

ꙗсти (jasti) impf, present ꙗмь, ꙗси, Glagolitic ⱑⱄⱅⰹ^[1][2] The forms with ѣ for ꙗ are frequent, as in the imperative ѣждь and the participle ѣдъи.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *ěsti (“to eat”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ēˀstei and Proto-Indo-European *h₁édti (“to eat”).^[1][4][5] The same verb is Bulgarian ям (jam), Serbo-Croatian jȅsti, Slovene jẹ́sti, Czech jísti, Polish jeść and Russian есть (jestʹ), all meaning to eat, and in South and East Slavic also to devour.^[5][4]

The Indo-European verb is attested in Lithuanian ė́sti (“to eat, devour”), Latvian êst, Old Prussian īst, Ancient Greek ἔδμεναι (édmenai), Latin edō (“to eat”) and Hittite ed-, and it had an athematic present *h₁ed-mi.^[5][4][6] Balto-Slavic has a lengthened grade of the root: Vaillant derives it from the Indo-European perfect, Wiktionary explains it by Winter's law, and some take the root to have had a Narten present with a long vowel in the singular.^[5][1] ESJS thinks Brugmann's attempt to split the root into a prefix and a root unlikely.^[5] The nouns ꙗдь and Lithuanian ėdis (“food”) may be compared, though ESJS thinks they were formed separately in each branch.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Gospels the verb renders Ancient Greek ἐσθίω (esthíō, “to eat”), as in почиваи ѣждь пии весели сѧ “take your ease, eat, drink, be merry” (L 12, 19 Zographensis, Marianus, Assemanianus and Savvina kniga).^[3] The SNSP counts more than 300 uses in the oldest manuscripts.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Besides eating food in general, the SJS gives the senses to live on something, as in ѣдъи акриди “eating locusts” (Mc 1, 6), and to dine or feast, as in ѣдѫштемъ имъ “as they were eating” (Mt 26, 21).^[3] Its Greek models are ἐσθίειν, τρώγειν, βιβρώσκειν and several compounds.^[3][2]

ESJS records the frequent phrases свои хлѣбъ ꙗсти “to live by one's own work”, съ кѣмь хлѣбъ ꙗсти “to eat bread with someone”, that is to be on friendly terms with him, and соухо ꙗсти “to keep a dry fast”.^[5] It lists the derivatives ꙗдениѥ “eating, food”, ꙗдь “food, feast”, ꙗдьца “glutton”, the prefixed изѣсти, поꙗсти and сънѣсти, and обѣдъ “meal, feast”, whose prefix ESJS takes to point to an original meal eaten in company.^[5] The later Church Slavonic ꙗ́сти keeps the sense to eat, for φαγεῖν and ἐσθίειν.^[7]

Timeline

• End of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century – the Euchologium Sinaiticum uses ꙗсти in rendering μιαροφαγεῖν “to eat unclean food”.^[8]
• 14th century – the Serbian Athonite translation of Gregory of Nyssa uses it for ἐσθίω and ἔφαγον.^[8]
• 1882–1885 – Giltebrandt lists the New Testament uses of ꙗ́сти for φαγεῖν and ἐσθίειν.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To eat; for ἐσθίειν, τρώγειν, βιβρώσκειν.^[3][2][1]
2. To live on, to feed on something.^[3]
3. To dine, to feast.^[3]

Word family

• ꙗдениѥ
• ꙗдь
• ꙗдъ
• ꙗдьца
• ꙗто
• ꙗсли
• изѣсти
• поꙗсти
• поꙗдати
• сънѣсти
• оуꙗсти
• обѣдъ
• обѣдовати
• обѣданиѥ
• кръвоꙗдениѥ

Related words

• Russian есть (jestʹ)

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 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 Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 154
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 273
6. ^ Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton
7. ^ a b Gil'tebrandt, P. A. (1882–1885), Spravočnyj i ob''jasnitel'nyj slovar' k Novomu Zavetu, 6 vols., Sankt-Peterburg
8. ^ a b SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de