Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/mazati

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

Unclear.

• Derksen proposes two possibilities:
  1. From Proto-Balto-Slavic *mōˀź-, cognate with Lithuanian mė́žti (“to muck out”), Latvian mêzt (“to muck out, to sweep”), mõzêt (“to gobble, to pound, to fool, to harass, to beat”).
  2. Cognate with Ancient Greek μάσσω (mássō, “to knead”) (aorist passive μαγῆναι (magênai)), Old Armenian մածանիմ (macanim, “to thicken, to stick together”), English make, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂ǵ-.
• Vasmer and Chernykh believe that both of the previous possibilities reflect the same PIE root, which underlies this term.

Verb

*màzati impf

1. to smear
2. to anoint, to oil

Inflection

Conjugation of *mazati, *maza, *mažetь (impf., -a/j-, s-aorist, accent paradigm a)

Verbal noun	Infinitive	Supine	L-participle
*mazanьje	*mazati	*mazatъ	*mazalъ

	Participles
Tense	Past	Present
Passive	*mazanъ	*mažemъ
Active	*mazavъ	*mažę

	Aorist			Present
Person	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd
Singular	*mazaxъ	*maza	*maza	*mažǫ	*mažeši	*mažetь
Dual	*mazaxově	*mazasta	*mazaste	*maževě	*mažeta	*mažete
Plural	*mazaxomъ	*mazaste	*mazašę	*mažemъ	*mažete	*mažǫtь
	Imperfect			Imperative
Person	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd
Singular	*mazaaxъ	*mazaaše	*mazaaše	—	*maži	*maži
Dual	*mazaaxově	*mazaašeta	*mazaašete	*maživě	*mažita	—
Plural	*mazaaxomъ	*mazaašete	*mazaaxǫ	*mažimъ	*mažite	—

Related terms

• *màslo (“oil, butter”)
• *mȃstь (“ointment”)
• *mȃzь (“grease”)
• *mȃzъ (“grease, ointment”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: мазати (mazati)
    • Belarusian: ма́заць (mázacʹ)
    • Russian: ма́зать (mázatʹ)
    • Ukrainian: ма́зати (mázaty)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Cyrillic: мазати (mazati)

    Glagolitic: [Term?]

  • Bulgarian: ма́жа (máža)
  • Macedonian: máž́am (dialectal)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: ма̏зати

    Latin script: mȁzati

  • Slovene: mázati (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: mazati
    • Czech: mazat
  • Kashubian: mazac
  • Polabian: mozę (3sg.)
  • Old Polish: mazać
    • Polish: mazać
  • Slovak: mazať
  • Slovincian: mazac
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: mazać
    • Lower Sorbian: mazaś

• Non-Slavic:
  • → Romanian: mazac (regional)

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “ма́зать”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Chernykh, P. Ja. (1993) “ма́зать”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), 3rd edition, volume 1 (а – пантомима), Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 502
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1992), “*mazati”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 18 (*matoga – *mękyšьka), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 23