Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/kopati

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.

Reflects the iterative Proto-Balto-Slavic *kаpā́ˀtei, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kep-. Parallel to Proto-Slavic *skopiti (“to castrate”) > Old Church Slavonic скопити (skopiti). Cognate with Latvian kapât (“to chop, hew”), Lithuanian kapóti (“to chop, hew”) and akin to Old Prussian enkopts (“buried”).

Per ESSJa, possibly superseded an earlier *kòp(je)ti (pres. 1p. sg. *kòpľǫ, attested in Slovene, Polish, Czech), cognate with Lithuanian kàpti (“to chop”), Ancient Greek κόπτω (kóptō, “to beat, to hit”).

*kopàti impf (perfective *kopnǫti)^[1][2][3]

1. to dig

• *čьpľjěti (“to scrape”)
• *čěpati (“to chop, to peck”)
• *čěpatъ (“gnarly”)
• *čepъ (“tap”) (possibly)
  • *čepakъ (“lid”)
  • *čepьcь (“cap”)
  • *čepъka (“cluster”)

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: копати (kopati)
    • Belarusian: капа́ць (kapácʹ)
    • Russian: копа́ть (kopátʹ)
    • Ukrainian: копа́ти (kopáty)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: копати (kopati)

    Glagolitic script: ⰽⱁⱂⰰⱅⰻ (kopati)

  • Bulgarian: копа́я (kopája) (standard), ко́пам (kópam) (colloquial)
  • Macedonian: копа (kopa)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: ко̀пати

    Latin script: kòpati

  • Slovene: kópati, kopáti (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Kashubian: kòpac
  • Old Czech: kopati
    • Czech: kopat
  • Polish: kopać
  • Slovak: kopať
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: kopać
    • Lower Sorbian: kopaś

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “копать”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1984), “*kopati”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 11 (*konьcь – *kotьna(ja)), Moscow: Nauka, page 18
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1979), “копая, копвам, копна”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 2 (и – крепя̀), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, page 610