Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/světъ

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.

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *śwaitas, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweyt- (“to shine”). Cognate with Lithuanian šviẽsti (“to shine”), Sanskrit श्वेत (śvetá, “white, bright”), Proto-Germanic *hwītaz (“white”). Doublet of *květъ.

*svě̑tъ m

1. light
2. world

• *svętъ

• *svěťa (“candle”)
• *světьlъ (“bright”)
• *světьlo (“light”)

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: свѣтъ (světŭ)
    • Old Ruthenian: свѣтъ (svět)
      • Belarusian: свет (svjet)
      • Carpathian Rusyn: світ (svit)
      • Ukrainian: світ (svit)
    • Russian: свет (svet)
    • → Lithuanian: svietas (obsolete)
    • → Samogitian: sviets
  • Old Novgorodian: свѣте (světe)
    • Old Pskovian: *хвѣте (*xvæte, x < ś < s)
      • → Russian: хвет (xvet) (Pskov)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Cyrillic: свѣтъ (světŭ)

    Glagolitic: ⱄⰲⱑⱅⱏ (světŭ)

  • Bulgarian: свят (svjat)
  • Macedonian: свет (svet)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: све̑т, свије̑т, сви̑т

    Latin: svȇt, svijȇt, svȋt

  • Slovene: svẹ̑t (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: svět
    • Czech: svět
  • Old Polish: świat
    • Polish: świat
    • Silesian: świat
  • Old Slovak: svet, svit
    • Pannonian Rusyn: швет (švet)
    • Slovak: svet (“world”), svit (“light”)
  • Polabian: sjot
    • → German: Schwedt
  • Pomeranian:
    • Kashubian: swiat
    • Slovincian: swjat
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: swět
    • Lower Sorbian: swět
• Non-Slavic:
  • → Hungarian: világ (semantic loan)
  • → Romanian: lume (semantic loan)

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “свет”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Chernykh, P. Ja. (1999) “свет”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка (in Russian), 3rd edition, volume 2 (панцирь – ящур), Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 145