Reconstruction:Proto-Balto-Slavic/gúbtei

This Proto-Balto-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-Balto-Slavic

Etymology

Origin disputed:

Per Bezlaj, Derksen: From Proto-Indo-European *gʰubʰ- akin to Old English ġēap (presumably, with -p- due to Kluge's law). Supported also by Snoj.
Per Machek, Trubačev: Possibly metathesized from *bug- → *gub-[1], from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ-, as found in Proto-Slavic *bъgati (“to bend”) (dialectal Russian бгать (bgatʹ), Ukrainian бга́ти (bháty)) and cognate with Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌿𐌲𐌰𐌽 (biugan, “to bend”), English bow.

Possibly related to Ancient Greek κύπτω (kúptō, “to cloak, to conceal”), κῡφός (kūphós, “bent, curved”).

Verb

*gúbtei[2][3]

to bend

Conjugation

Probably fixed accent (oxytone in Slavic), with various inchoative constructions:

n-infix present in Lithuanian (3p. gum̃ba)
ste-present in Latvian (3p. gubst)
né-present in Slavic (3p. *gъbnètь)

Related terms

*gáubtei (“to cover, to hood”)
*gubā́ˀtei (“to crook”)

Descendants

East Baltic:
- Latvian: gubt
- Lithuanian: gùbti
Proto-Slavic: *gъ(b)nǫti (see there for further descendants)

References

Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1976), “*bъgati”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological Dictionary of Slavic Languages] (in Russian), issue 3 (*bratrьcь – *cьrky), Moscow: Nauka, page 114
Derksen, Rick (2008), “*gъnǫti”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 197: “BSl. *gub-”
Derksen, Rick (2015), “gubti”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Baltic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 13), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 192: “BSl. *gub-”