Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/olkati

Per Derksen, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *alˀk-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁olHk-, with the second laryngeal required to account for the acute tone in Balto-Slavic; but perhaps more commonly reconstructed as coming from Proto-Indo-European *h₁elḱ- (e.g. Rasmussen (p. 199) reconstructs *h₁e-h₁olk- > Proto-Balto-Slavic *ōlk-). Cognate with Lithuanian álkti (“to be hungry”) (1sg. álkstu, 1sg. past álkau), Latvian al̂kt (“to be hungry”) (1sg. al̂kstu), Old Prussian alkīns (“sober, skinny”), Old High German ilgi (“hunger, gnashing of the teeth”), probably also Old Norse illr (“evil”) < Proto-Germanic *ilhilaz.

*òlkati impf

1. to be hungry

• *òlčьnъ (“hungry”)
• *òlkomъ (“greedy”)

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: лакати (lakati, “to crave”), 1sg. лачꙋ (laču)
    • Russian: лака́ть (lakátʹ, “to crave”)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Cyrillic: алъкати (alŭkati, “to be hungry, to fast”), 1sg. алъчѫ (alŭčǫ); лакати (lakati, “to be hungry, to fast”), 1sg. лачѫ (lačǫ)

    Glagolitic: [Term?]

    • → Old East Slavic: алкати (alkati, “to crave”), алъкати (alŭkati), 1sg. алъчꙋ (alŭču)
      • Russian: алка́ть (alkátʹ, “to crave, to hunger for; (obsolete) to be hungry”), 1sg. а́лчу (álču), 3sg. а́лчет (álčet)
  • Slovene: lákati (“to be hungry, to be greedy, to starve”) (tonal orthography), 1sg. lákam (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: lákati (“to crave”), 1sg. lákaju, láču
  • Polish: (łaknąć (“to feel hunger for, to crave”))
  • Slovak: lákať
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: łakaś (“to show desire, to stalk”)

• Derksen, Rick (2008), “*òlkati”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 367
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “алка́ть”, in Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), transl. and suppl. by Oleg Trubachyov, Moscow: Progress
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “ла́кать”, in Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), transl. and suppl. by Oleg Trubachyov, Moscow: Progress
• Rasmussen, J.E. (1999), “Stray Indo-European notes”, in Selected papers on Indo-European linguistics. With a selection on comparative Eskimo linguistics, volume I, Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, pages 199–205
• Trubachyov, Oleg, Zhuravlyov, A. F., editors (2005), “*olkati”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological Dictionary of Slavic Languages] (in Russian), issue 32 (*obžьnъ – *orzbotati), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 57