Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/běka

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

Alternative reconstructions

*beka (per ESSJa)

Etymology

Agent noun of the onomatopoeic Proto-Slavic *běkati (“to bleat”).

Noun

*běka f

sheep
Synonym: *ovьca
type of herb
→ sedge (Carex)
→ hedgenettle (Stachys)

Declension

Declension of *běka (hard a-stem)

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*běka	*běcě	*běky
Accusative	*běkǫ	*běcě	*běky
Genitive	*běky	*běku	*běkъ
Locative	*běcě	*běku	běkasъ, běkaxъ^*
Dative	*běcě	*běkama	*běkamъ
Instrumental	běkojǫ, běkǫ^**	*běkama	*běkami
Vocative	*běko	*běcě	*běky

^* -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).

Related terms

*běkati (“to bleat”)
*bějьka (“sheep”)

Descendants

South Slavic:
- Bulgarian: бе́ка (béka)
- Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic: бе́ка
  Latin: béka
- Slovene: béka (“plant/tree with long branches”)