Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/nitь

This Proto-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-Slavic

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *nī́ˀtis, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)nh₁itis, from *(s)neh₁- (“to spin, sew”). Cognate with Latvian nĩts (“(warp) thread”), Lithuanian nýtis (“(warp) thread”). Also cognate with Ancient Greek νέω (néō, “to spin”), Latin nēre (“to spin, weave”), Welsh nyddu (“to spin”), Sanskrit स्नायति (snāyati), Proto-Germanic *nēþlō and English needle.

Noun

*nìtь f

1. thread

Declension

Declension of *nìtь (i-stem, accent paradigm a)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*nìtь	*nìti	*nìti
genitive	*nìtī	*nìtьju, *nìťu*	*nìtьjь, *nìtī*
dative	*nìti	*nìtьma	*nìtьmъ
accusative	*nìtь	*nìti	*nìti
instrumental	*nìtьjǫ, *nìťǭ*	*nìtьma	*nìtьmī
locative	*nìtī	*nìtьju, *nìťu*	*nìtьxъ
vocative	*niti	*nìti	*nìti

^* The second form occurs in languages that contract early across /j/ (e.g. Czech), while the first form occurs in languages that do not (e.g. Russian).

Derived terms

• *nitěnica
• *nitěnъ
• *nitěnъka
• *nitidla
• *nititi
• *nitьje
• *nitьnica
• *nitьnikъ
• *nitьnъ
• *nitъka
• *nitъkovъ

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: нить (nitĭ)
    • Belarusian: ніць (nicʹ)
    • Russian: нить (nitʹ)
      • → Dolgan: нитнит
    • Ukrainian: нить (nytʹ), ни́тка (nýtka)
    • → Estonian: niit
    • → Ingrian: niitti
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: нить (nitĭ)

    Glagolitic script: ⱀⰻⱅⱐ (nitĭ)

  • Bulgarian: нишка (niška) (with the suffix -ка (-ka))
  • Macedonian: нишка (niška) (with the suffix -ка (-ka))
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: ни̑т

    Latin script: nȋt

  • Slovene: nȉt (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: nit
    • Czech: nit
  • Old Polish: nić
    • Polish: nić, mić (Near Masovian, Western Lublin, Dys)
    • Silesian: nić
  • Old Slovak: niť, nitka
    • Pannonian Rusyn: нїтка (njitka)
    • Slovak: niť
  • Polabian: nait
  • Pomeranian:
    • Kashubian: nic
    • Slovincian: njic
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: niś
    • Upper Sorbian: nić

Further reading

• Derksen, Rick (2008), “*nìtь”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden; Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 353: “f. i (a) ‘thread’”
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1999), “*nitь/*піtъ/*піtа/*піtjа”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 25 (*neroditi – *novotьnъ(jь)), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 130
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “нить”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Melnychuk, O. S., editor (2003), “нить”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), volume 4 (Н – П), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, →ISBN, page 91
• Snoj, Marko (2016), “nȉt”, in Slovenski etimološki slovar [Slovenian Etymology Dictionary] (in Slovene), 3rd edition, https://fran.si
• “nitь”, in Lietuvių kalbos etimologinio žodyno duomenų bazė [Lithuanian etymological dictionary database], 2007–2012