< Reconstruction:Proto-Balto-Slavic
Reconstruction:Proto-Balto-Slavic/mígtei
Proto-Balto-Slavic
Etymology
From Proto-Indo-European *h₃meygʰ- (“to drizzle”) with several hypotheses for original inflection:
- Ivanov, Mažiulis: From athematic root present *méigʰti ~ *migʰénti[1].
- van Wijk, Stang: Alternatively, reanalyzed from an earlier perfect *(me)móigʰe ~ *(me)migʰḗr.
- Villanueva Svensson: Possibly from Narten-type athematic present *mḗigʰti ~ *méigʰn̥ti[2] in middle voice, paired with athematic aorist *méigʰt ~ *migʰént (whence 0-grades within later derivatives).
Reconstruction notes
Modern descendants have innovated various types of reanalyzed conjugations. Athematic inflection is attested in Old Lithuanian and Old Prussian[1].
The accent paradigm is based on Lithuanian and Serbo-Croatian (ap B per Illič-Svityč).
Verb
*mígtei[2]
- (per Derksen, probably) to flicker, to twinkle, to murk
- → to wink; to close, to screw one's eyes
- → (figuratively) to doze, to slumber
Conjugation
Fixed accent, originally athematic: *méigti ~ *migínti.
Later descendants and related derivatives exhibit:
- n-infix present / ā-preterite: standard Lithuanian miñga (3p. pres.), mìgo (3p. pret.)
- thematic present / ā-preterite: dialectal Lithuanian miẽga (3p. pres.), mìgo (3p. pret.); standard Latvian mìeg (3p. pres.), mìga (3p. pret.)
- te-present / ā-preterite: dialectal Lithuanian miegta (3p. pres.), migo (3p. pret.)
- ste-present / jā-preterite: dialectal Latvian migst/miegst (3p. pres.), midza (3p. pret.)
- ī-present / ě-preterite: Proto-Slavic *mьžati (primary)
- enlonged-grade jā-present + preterite: Proto-Slavic *mižati (secondary, iterative)
- ne-present / nu-preterite: Proto-Slavic *mьgnǫti (inchoative)
Derived terms
- *migī́ˀtei, *migdī́ˀtei (secondary causative)
- Baltic:
- Latvian: midzinât
- Lithuanian: mìginti, migdýti
- Proto-Slavic: *mьžiti (> Russian мжить (mžitʹ)), *miždžati (> Serbo-Croatian ми́ждати)
- Baltic:
Related terms
- *meigā́ˀtei (“to wink (Slavic); to sleep (Baltic)”) (factitive)
- *meigás (action/resultant noun)
- *maigī́ˀtei (“to close eyes”) (primary causative)
Descendants
- East Baltic:
- Latvian: migt (“to fall asleep, to make s.o. asleep”) (intransitive/transitive)
- ⇒ Latvian: miêgt (“to close eyes”) (intransitive)
- Lithuanian: mìgti (“to fall asleep”) (intransitive)
- Latvian: migt (“to fall asleep, to make s.o. asleep”) (intransitive/transitive)
- West Baltic:
- Old Prussian: miecte class 3p. sg. (“sleeps”)
- Proto-Slavic: *mьžati, *mižati (“to screw one's eyes, to keep eyes shut”) (intransitive)
Further reading
- “migti”, in Lietuvių kalbos etimologinio žodyno duomenų bazė [Lithuanian etymological dictionary database], 2007–2012
- Derksen, Rick (2015), “migti”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Baltic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 13), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 317
- Derksen, Rick (2008), “*mьžati, *mižati I”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 344
References
- Ivanov, Vyačeslav (1981) Славянский, балтийский и раннебалканский глагол. Индоевропейские истоки, Nauka, page 122
- Villanueva Svensson, Miguel (2004), “Lithuanian miegóti "sleep"”, in Baltistica XXXIX, pages 179–187