Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/pikati

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.

Snoj tentatively derives it from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pey- (“to pierce”), whence Albanian pickoj (“to sting, to pinch”), Sanskrit स्फ्य (sphya, “spike, pointy tool”).

Onomatopoeic origin or perhaps borrowing are also possible. Compare Proto-Germanic *pikkōną (“to peck”), French piquer (“to sting”).

*pìkati impf (perfective *pìknǫti)

1. (transitive) to prick, to poke, to stuff

• *pikъ
  • ⇒ *pičiti
• (possibly) *pьčati

• South Slavic:
  • Macedonian: пика (pika)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: пи̏кати

    Latin script: pȉkati

  • Slovene: pīkati (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: píkati

• Jiří Rejzek (2007) “pikat”, in Český etymologický slovník (in Czech), Leda, page 466

• Matasović, Ranko (2021) “pikati”, in Dubravka Ivšić Majić, Tijmen Pronk, editors, Etimološki rječnik hrvatskoga jezika (in Serbo-Croatian), volumes II: O—Ž, Zagreb: Institut za hrvatski jezik i jezikoslovlje, page 123
• Skok, Petar (1971–1974) “pikati”, in Etimologijski rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika (in Serbo-Croatian), volumes 1–4 (A – Ž), Zagreb: JAZU, page 655

Onomatopoeic, from imitative root *pī- +‎ *-kati.

Antiquity uncertain.

*pìkati impf

1. (intransitive) to peep, to cheep

• *piskati, *piščati
• *pijukati

• East Slavic:
  • Belarusian: пі́каць (píkacʹ)
  • Russian: пи́кать (píkatʹ)
  • Ukrainian: пі́кати (píkaty)
    • ⇒ Ukrainian: пікоти́ти (pikotýty)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: пи́кам (píkam), пипи́кам (pipíkam) (dialectal)
• West Slavic:
  • Polish: pikać
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: pikaś

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “пикать”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Boryś, Wiesław (2005) “pikać”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN, page 435
• Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1982–2012), “пікати”, in Етимологічний словник української мови (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka