Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/ba

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Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/ba

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.

Proto-Slavic

Etymology

Likely from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂ (affirmative adverb), cognate with Ancient Greek φή (phḗ, “like, as”)[1], Avestan 𐬠𐬁‎ (bā, “indeed”).

Particle

*ba

1. yes, yeah (a term used to indicate general agreement)

   Synonym: *da

   Antonym: *ne

2. indeed

   → wow, really (interjection expressing surprise, astonishment)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Russian: ба (ba) (rare)
  • Ukrainian: ба (ba, “Wow!”)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: ба (ba) (rare)
  • Macedonian: ба (ba) (rare, dialectal)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic: ба̏ (“wow!”)

    Latin: bȁ (“wow!”)

• West Slavic:
  • Czech: ba
  • Old Polish: ba
    • Polish: ba
  • Slovak: ba
  • Sorbian
    • Lower Sorbian: ba

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1974), “*ba”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological Dictionary of Slavic Languages] (in Russian), issue 1 (*a – *besědьlivъ), Moscow: Nauka, page 105
• Georgiev V. I., editor (1971), “ба²”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1, Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, page 22

References

1. Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “φή”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume II, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1565