Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/tьlěti

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 *til- or *tilˀ-. Cognate with Latvian til̂t (“to become soft or retted”) (West Latvian dialect, where the broken and falling tones merge). Possibly cognate with *utoliti (“to quench, to relieve”) and/or Lithuanian tylė́ti (“to soothe, to be silent”), tìlti (“to be silent”). Vasmer suggests a possible additional connection with Ancient Greek τέλμα (télma, “marsh, puddle”), τελμίς (telmís, “rot, slime”) (gen. τελμῖνος (telmînos)), Old Armenian տիղմ (tiłm, “mud”). Chernykh adds Old Irish tulid, tuilid (“to sleep”).

*tьlěti impf

1. to decay
2. to smolder

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: тьлѣти (tĭlěti, “to rot”), 1sg. тьлѣю (tĭlěju)
    • Belarusian: тлець (tljecʹ)
    • Russian: тлеть (tletʹ, “to rot, to decay, to smolder”), 1sg. тле́ю (tléju)
    • Ukrainian: тлі́ти (tlíty, “to decay, to rot”), 1sg. тлі́ю (tlíju)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Cyrillic: тьлѣти (tĭlěti, “to decay”), 1sg. тьлѣѭ (tĭlějǫ)

    Glagolitic:

    • Bulgarian: тле́я (tléja, “to smolder”)
    • Macedonian: тлее (tlee, “to glow”)
  • ⇒ Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: тѝњати (“to smolder”)

    Latin script: tinjati (“to smolder”)

  • Slovene: tlẹ́ti (“to smolder”) (tonal orthography), 1sg. tlím (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: tlít (“to rot, to decay, to mold”)
  • Polish: tleć (“smolder”), tlać; ⇒ tlić
  • Pomeranian:
    • Kashubian: tlec
  • Silesian: tleć
  • Slovak: tlieť (“to smolder”)
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: tłać (“to decay, to rot”)
    • Lower Sorbian: tłaś (“to decay, to rot”)

• Chernykh, P. Ja. (1993) “тлеть”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), 3rd edition, volume 2 (панцирь – ящур), Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 246
• Derksen, Rick (2008) “*tьlěti”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 504
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “тлеть”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress