Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/gnětiti

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.

• *nětiti

Unknown.

• Berneker: Proto-Indo-European *knoyt-, from the causative/iterative o-grade of *ken(h₁)- (“to scratch; scrape; rub”), thus from earlier *knětiti, connected to Old Prussian knaistis (“fuse (for burning)”), Old English *gnāst (“spark”) (from Proto-Germanic *ga- + Proto-Germanic *hnaistô (“spark”)). Further possible Indo-European cognates include Ancient Greek κνῐ́ζω (knízō) and κνήθω (knḗthō) (both meaning "to scratch"), Latin cinis (“cold ash”), Ancient Greek κόνις (kónis, “dust, ash”), Sanskrit कण (kaṇa, “particle, small grain of dust or rice”).
• Boryś: probably a causative verb from *gnisti, but this verb is unattested. Old English gnidan as possible cognate. From Proto-Indo-European *gʰneytʰ- (“to rub”). Original meaning would be "rub wood on wood to ignite a fire".

*gnětìti impf^[1][2]

1. to ignite

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: гнѣтити (gnětiti)
    • Russian: гнети́ть (gnetítʹ) (dialectal)
    • Ukrainian: гніти́ти (hnitýty, “to ruddy (bread and other baked goods)”)
    • ⇒ Belarusian: загнет (zahnjet, “hearth of an oven”)
    • ⇒ Russian: загнетка (zagnetka, “place where hot coals are put in an oven; hearth of an oven”)
• South Slavic:
  • ⇒ Old Church Slavonic: възгнѣтити (vŭzgnětiti)
    • Church Slavonic (Russian recension): гнѣтити (gnětiti)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: није́тити

    Latin script: nijétiti

  • Slovene: netīti (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: nietiti
    • Czech: nítit
  • Kashubian: niécëc, miecëc
  • ⇒ Old Polish: namiecić, podmiecić, rozmiecić
    • Polish: niecić, miecić (dialectal)
  • Slovak: nietiť

• Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1982), “гнітити²”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), volume 1 (А – Г), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, page 539
• Boryś, Wiesław (2005) “Proto-Slavic/gnětiti”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN, page 359