Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/blęsti

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.

Per Fraenkel, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *blenstei, typically derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlendʰ- (“to blend, to stir”). Baltic cognates include Lithuanian blę̃sti (“to add ingredients and stir; to babble nonsense”), possibly Latvian bliêzt (“to struggle to perceive”).

Alternative hypotheses suggest expressive or onomatopoeic origin:

• Machek: Related to Lithuanian blódėti (“to babble”), Latvian bladēt (“id.”), possible also Ancient Greek φλέδων (phlédōn, “babbler”), φληνύω (phlēnúō, “to babble”) (per Beekes, probably of Pre-Greek origin).
• Seebold: From Proto-Indo-European *mlendʰ-, an extention of *(s)mel- (“false, erroneous”) (whence Lithuanian mẽlas (“lie”)) or *melh₂- (“to grind”).

*blęstì^[1][2][3]

1. (perhaps originally) to blend words → to confuse, to perplex
2. to talk nonsense
3. to err, to deceive (with words)

• *blędati (“to cause commotion, confusion”)
• *blędь (“deception”)
  • *blędoslovьje (“blathering”), *blędina (“nonsense”)
  • *blędьnъ (“deceptive”)
• *blędostь (“falsehood, deceptiveness”)
• *blędìvъ(jь) (“babbling, blathering”)

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: блѧсти (blęsti)
    • Old Ukrainian: блѧсти (bljasti) (early 17th cent.)^[4]
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: блѧсти (blęsti)

    Glagolitic script: ⰱⰾⱔⱄⱅⰺ (blęsti)

    • ⇒? Bulgarian: бле́щя (bléštja, “to talk nonsense”) (dialectal)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: блести (obsolete)

    Latin script: blesti (obsolete)

  • Slovene: blésti
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: blésti
  • Polish: blęść (dialectal)

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1975), “*blęsti, *blędǫ”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 2 (*bez – *bratrъ), Moscow: Nauka, page 115
• Anikin, A. E. (2009) “блѧсти, блѧдꙋ”, in Русский этимологический словарь [Russian Etymological Dictionary] (in Russian), issue 3 (бе – болдыхать), Moscow: Manuscript Monuments Ancient Rus, →ISBN, page 279
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “бледословен, бледословя”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 55
• “blęsti”, in Lietuvių kalbos etimologinio žodyno duomenų bazė [Lithuanian etymological dictionary database], 2007–2012
• “blodėti”, in Lietuvių kalbos etimologinio žodyno duomenų bazė [Lithuanian etymological dictionary database], 2007–2012