Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/mьstь

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.

• *mьsta

Derived from Proto-Indo-European *meytH- / *meyth₂- (“to exchange, swap, replace”), a root extension of *mey- (“to change, to exchange”). By surface analysis, **misti (“to exchange? / return?”) +‎ *-tь (compare *čьstь : *čisti) or **mьstъ (“mutual?”) +‎ *-ь.

Related to Latvian mît (“to change”) (1sg. miju), Sanskrit मेथति (méthati, “to alternate”), मिथति (mitháti, “to alternate”), Avestan 𐬨𐬌𐬚𐬀 (miθa, “false”), 𐬨𐬌𐬚𐬡𐬀 (miθβa, “paired”), 𐬨𐬌𐬚𐬡𐬀𐬥𐬀 (miθβana, “paired”), Ancient Greek μοῖτος (moîtos, “reward, thanks”), Latin mūtō (“to change”), mūtuus (“mutual, reciprocal”), Old Irish mis-, mith- (“wrong”), Old Norse missa (“loss, damage”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐍃𐍃𐍉 (missō, “each other”), English mis- < Proto-Germanic *missa- < *mitto (“mutual, reciprocal”).

*mьstь f

1. revenge, vengeance

• *mъstъ
• *město

• *mьzda
• *mijati
• *mitě (“in turn, alternately”)
• *mitusь (“opposite one another”)
• *mitva (“in turn, alternately?”)

• *mьstiti (“to avenge”)
  • *mьstiteľь
  • *mьstivъ
• *mьstьnъ
  • *mьstьnikъ

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: мьсть (mĭstĭ), месть (mestĭ), мьсто (mĭsto)
    • Russian: месть (mestʹ)
    • Ukrainian: месть (mestʹ)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: мьсть (mĭstĭ)

  • Bulgarian: мъст (mǎst)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: msta
    • Czech: msta
      • ⇒ Czech: pomsta
  • Polish: msta
    • ⇒ Polish: pomsta, zemsta
  • Slovak: mstva
    • ⇒ Slovak: pomsta
  • Slovincian: msta
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: msta

• Derksen, Rick (2008) “*mьstь; *mьsta”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 343
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1994), “*mьstь/*mьsta”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 21 (*mъrskovatъjь – *nadějьnъjь), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 172
• Chernykh, P. Ja. (1993) “месть”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), 3rd edition, volume 526 (), Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 1
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “месть”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress