Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/mьlčati

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.

Uncertain:

• Derksen, LIV: No cognates outside of Slavic. If inherited, the root would be *melk- or *melkʷ-.
• Černykh, Vasmer, Mladenov, Snoj: From Proto-Indo-European *melh₂k-, per Mladenov probably a k-extension of *melh₂- (“to grind, to mill”). Akin to Lithuanian mùlkis (“simpleton”), Latvian muļķis m, muļķe f (“fool”) within Balto-Slavic; and to Sanskrit मूर्ख (mūrkhá, “stupid”), Ancient Greek μαλακός (malakós, “soft, gentle, serene”), βλάξ (bláx, “stupid”), Old Irish malcaid (“to rot”) in other Indo-European languages.

*mьlčàti impf (perfective *mьlknǫti)^[1][2][3]

1. to be silent

Dialectally:

• *mьlkъ (“lack of sound”)
• *mlaxavъ (“slack, lax”) (possibly)

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: мълчати (mŭlčati), молчати (molčati)
    • Belarusian: маўча́ць (maŭčácʹ)
    • Russian: молча́ть (molčátʹ)
    • Ukrainian: мовча́ти (movčáty)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Cyrillic: мльчати (mlĭčati)

    Glagolitic:

  • Bulgarian: мълча́ (mǎlčá); млъча́ (mlǎčá), мълчу́вам (mǎlčúvam) (dialectal)
  • Macedonian: молчи (molči)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: му́чати

    Latin script: múčati

  • Slovene: mołčáti (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Kashubian: môłczëc
  • Old Czech: mlčěti
    • Czech: mlčet
  • Polabian: måuca̧cĕ
  • Old Polish: milczeć
    • Polish: milczeć
  • Slovak: mlčať
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: mjelčeć
    • Lower Sorbian: mjelcaś

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1994), “*mьlčati”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 21 (*mъrskovatъjь – *nadějьnъjь), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 102
• Chernykh, P. Ja. (1993) “молча́ть”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), 3rd edition, volume 1 (а – пантомима), Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 540
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “молча́ть”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., Duridanov, I. V., editors (1995), “мълча”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 4 (мѝнго² – па̀дам), Sofia: Prof. Marin Drinov Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 391