< Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic
Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/biba
 | This Proto-Slavic entry contains reconstructed words 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
Action noun of the onomatopoeic *bibikati (“to beep”) + *-a.
Noun
*biba f
- chirp
- bird's beak (especially of ducks, geese, etc.)
- (by extension) → duck, singing bird
- Synonyms: *pъtъka, *ǫty
- (by extension) → duck, singing bird
Declension
Declension of *biba (hard a-stem)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *biba | *bibě | *biby |
| Accusative | *bibǫ | *bibě | *biby |
| Genitive | *biby | *bibu | *bibъ |
| Locative | *bibě | *bibu | *bibasъ, *bibaxъ* |
| Dative | *bibě | *bibama | *bibamъ |
| Instrumental | *bibojǫ, *bibǫ** | *bibama | *bibami |
| Vocative | *bibo | *bibě | *biby |
* -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
- *bibę n (“duckling”) (diminutive)
- *bibъka f (“duck”) (diminutive)
Descendants
- South Slavic:
- Bulgarian: бѝба (bìba) (dialectal)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: бѝба (dialectal)
- Latin: bìba (dialectal)
- West Slavic:
- ⇒ Slovak: bibic (“common chaffinch”)
Further reading
- Georgiev Vl. I., editor (1971), “биба”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1, Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, page 45