< Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic
Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/bala
 | 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
Uncertain:
- Most likely a cognate of Proto-Germanic *pōlaz (“pool”), possibly Sanskrit जम्बाल (jambāla, “clay”); perhaps from a substrate language[1]. May be related to Proto-Turkic *balkas (“tussock in a swamp”), whence the name of lake Balkaš.
- In the past, has been compared to Lithuanian balà (“swamp”), balùtė (“puddle”), Latvian bala (“loamy meadow, marsh”), Sudovian bala (attested in toponyms) typically linked to Proto-Slavic *bolto (“swamp, mud”), from formally unrelated Proto-Indo-European *bʰelH- (“to shine”). Dismissed as potential cognates by Smoczyński.
- Marusenko (in regard to the Russian/Ukrainian descendants) proposes native back-formation from Proto-Slavic *obaliti (“to submerge, to collapse”) < *ob-valiti.
Compare also superficial homophone Ukrainian ба́ла (bála, “enchanting”) (< *badla), related to Proto-Slavic *balagovati (“to mumble”), *balakati (“to babble, to make noise”) (whence dial. Bulgarian бала́кам (balákam, “to play in water”)).
Noun
*bala f
- (dialectal) marsh, moor, pool
- Synonyms: *molka, *kaluga, *luža
- (by association) ravine
Declension
Declension of *bala (hard a-stem)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *bala | *balě | *baly |
| Accusative | *balǫ | *balě | *baly |
| Genitive | *baly | *balu | *balъ |
| Locative | *balě | *balu | *balasъ, *balaxъ* |
| Dative | *balě | *balama | *balamъ |
| Instrumental | *balojǫ, *balǫ** | *balama | *balami |
| Vocative | *balo | *balě | *baly |
* -asъ is the expected Balto-Slavic form but is found only in some Old Czech documents; -axъ is found everywhere else and is formed by analogy with other locative plurals in -xъ.
** The second form occurs in languages that contract early across /j/ (e.g. Czech), while the first form occurs in languages that do not (e.g. Russian).
** The second form occurs in languages that contract early across /j/ (e.g. Czech), while the first form occurs in languages that do not (e.g. Russian).
Derived terms
- *balъka[1] (diminutive)
- *bališče (augmentative)
Related terms
- *baly (probably)
- ⇒ Czech: balviště (“large pond”)
- ⇒ Slovene: balovína (“feather grass”)
Descendants
- South Slavic:
- ⇒ Kajkavian Serbo-Croatian: bala, balka (“feather grass”) (dial. Croatian)
From augmentative *bališče:
- East Slavic:
- Ukrainian: ба́лище (bályšče, “depression, drainage”) (dialectal)
Further reading
- Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1974), “*balъka”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological Dictionary of Slavic Languages] (in Russian), issue 1 (*a – *besědьlivъ), Moscow: Nauka, page 149
- Georgiev V. I., editor (1971), “балакам”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1, Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, page 28
- “bala”, in Lietuvių kalbos etimologinio žodyno duomenų bazė [Lithuanian etymological dictionary database], 2007–2012
References
- Matasović, Ranko (2013), “Substratum words in Balto-Slavic”, in Filologija, volume 60, Zagreb, published 2014, page 83 of 75–102: “PSl. *balъka ‘ravine, pool’”