S aipsniai / A icles 11
VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
Masa yk Uni e si y
ORCID id: o cid.o g./0000-0002-6797-7188
Fields o esea ch: Bal ic & Indo-Eu opean e ymology and
onomas ics.
DOI: doi.o g/10.35321/all87-01
BALTIC *BALĀ ‘MUD, BOG,
MARSH’ AT THE INDO-
EUROPEAN BACKDROP
Bal ų *balā ‘pu as, liūnas, pelkė’
indoeu opiečių kalbų kon eks e
ANNOTATION
In his a icle he Bal ic e m *balā ‘mud, bog, ma sh’ is analyzed om he poin o
iew o i s wo d- o ma ion and e ymology. The discussion o p eceding e ymologies leads
o he choice o he cogna es in Ge manic *pōla-, and possibly Con inen al Cel ic *bolā,
all ‘swamp, ma sh’, plus newly he Sla ic e m *ǫb(ъ)lъ ‘sou ce, sp ing; well’ as *-bo
‘unmuddy’ = ‘clea (wa e )’. The Ge manic compa anda imply he a e ini ial *b-, o
some linguis s, namely ep esen a i es o he Leiden school, indica ing he “non-Indo-
Eu opean” o igin. I is es ed i he e ymon could ep esen an ex ension in -l- om he oo
*guebh- ‘ma sh, swamp’ in he ze o-g ade o ablau in ag eemen wi h he ideas o Alexande
Lubo sky.
KEYWORDS: Bal ic, Ge manic, Cel ic, Sla ic, sou ce, umuddy, swamp.
ANOTACIJA
S aipsnyje bal iškas e minas *balā ‘pu as, liūnas, pelkė’ analizuojamas žodžių da ybos
i e imologijos požiū iu. Ap a us anks esnes e imologijas, pasi enkami giminiški žodžiai –
ge manų *pōla- i galbū žemyno kel ų *bolā, eiškian ys ‘pelkė, liūnas’, o aip pa naujai
p idedamas sla iškas e minas *ǫb(ъ)lъ ‘ e smė, šal inis; šulinys’, ku is analizuojamas
kaip *-bo ‘nepu inas’ = ‘skaid us ( anduo)’. Kai ku ių kalbininkų, kaip an ai Leideno
mokyklos a s o ų, eigimu, ge maniški lyginamieji žodžiai nu odo e ą žodžio p adžios *b-,
ku i suponuoja „neindoeu opie išką“ kilmę. Remian is Aleksand o Lubo skio idėjomis,
VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
12 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXXVII
s aipsnyje analizuojama, a šis e imonas galė ų bū i nulinio balsių kai os laipsnio šaknį
*guebh- ‘liūnas, pelkė’ p aplečiančio elemen o -l- pa yzdys.
ESMINIAI ŽODŽIAI: bal iškas, ge maniškas, kel iškas, sla iškas, e smė, nepu inas,
pelkė.
1. ATTESTATION
1.1. Li huanian balà ‘mud, bog, ma shy a ea; spilled wa e , puddle’, dial. also
bal; de i a i es: balýnas ‘swamp, bog’, balỹnė id., balỹs as, -à dial. ‘muddy,
ma shy’, balókšnis ‘small muddy a ea, puddle, wa e - illed hole, e.g. in a oad’,
baló os pe os . pl. ‘muddy meadows’, linabalė ‘boggy meadow’.
Toponyms: i e names Balái is, Balnis, Bãlupis; lake names Baluosỹs,
Baluõšas, Bãlakampis, Bãlaže is; place names Bãlos, Balalė, Bališkės 2x,
Bãliškiai 2x, Balškiai 2x, Balùškiai 2x, Ažùbaliai 12x, Ažùbalis 9x, Pabalia,
Ùžbaliai 9x, Užùbaliai 17x, cp. Balagãnas, Balagãnai, Babu ai, Baldegia,
Bakalnis, and Ėgliabaliai, Ožkabalia 3x, Šlapabalė, Ve šióbalis, Vilkabaliai 3x
(Smoczyński 2018: 86: some o hese names may belong o he adj. bãlas
‘whi e’; ALEW 87).
1.2. La ian bala1 ‘clayey, eeless alley’, pl. balas ‘soggy, in e ile soil’ (ME I:
253), besides bȩlu e ‘hole illed wi h wa e ’ (ME I: 278), which co esponds o
Li huanian balù ė id. (Ne skaja 1977: 18); de i a i es: baliņa ‘puddle’ (ibid.).
Toponyms: i e name Balupe, i.e. ‘swamp- i e ’ (Endzelin 1934: 121);
moun ain name Bala es kalns, i.e. ‘swamp-moun ain’ (F aenkel 1962–1965: 30).
1.3. In Old P ussian he co esponding appella i e is no known, only
oponyms, which a e p obably ela ed:
Lake name Balyngen (1361) co esponding o he Li huanian hyd onym
Balingu a;
place names as 1409 Balionynen, 1284 Balowe, 1423 Balosi en ~ Li huanian
Baluoso ẽže as (Ge ullis 1922: 15, 232; Topo o 1975: 184; Blažienė 2005: 24),
1782 Bali e (Blažienė 2000: 15), Bałupiany, 1790 Ballupöhnen ~ Li huanian i e
names Balùpis, Bãlupis (P zyby ek 1993: 18), 1423 Bolausen (Ge ullis 1922: 14;
Blažienė 2005: 32–33).
1.4. The e a e aces o he ela ed Bal ic hyd onyms ou side he e i o y
o he his o ical Bal ic languages, namely Bályn in he basin o he Uk ainian
i e Desna co esponding o he name o he Li huanian lake Balinis (Topo o ,
T ubače 1962: 176; SHU 32), o he i e Baly om he basin o he i e
1 The wo d is a es ed only in he neighbo hood o he La ian-Li huanian language bo de . Tha is
why i is possible o hink abou he Li huanian o igin o his La ian wo d (c . ALEW 87).
S aipsniai / A icles 13
Bal ic *balā ‘mud, bog, ma sh’ a he Indo-Eu opean Backd op
Ho yň (T ubače 1968: 227, 249; SHU 32), al hough i s Sla ic o igin canno
be excluded oo.
1.5. Bal ic o igin can be asc ibed o one No heas Russian dialec ism
bala úžina ‘puddle’ om he basin o he uppe Volga, Vja ka and Don
(c . Vasme I: 46 and Anikin 2008: 127, p e e ing he p ima y o m wi h
me a hesis o liquids *ba alúžina o *ba olúžina). I is emp ing o hink abou
he p ima y Bal ic – Eas Sla ic compound *bala-lužina co esponding o e.g.
Polish kałuża < *kało-łuża (Pas nek 1902: 303), Czech kaluž < *kalo-luža
‘puddle’, li . ‘muddy puddle’ (Machek 1968: 237), al hough he segmen a ion
kał-uża is also in he play.
2. THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO APPROACHES
TO ETYMOLOGIZING BALTIC *BALĀ
2.1. The Bal ic e m *balā ‘mud, bog, ma sh’ has usually been connec ed
wi h Sla ic *bòl o ‘swamp’, which pene a ed in o some mode n non-Sla ic
languages o he Balkans: Albanian bal ë ‘mud, swamp’; Romanian bal ă ‘mud,
swamp’; Mode n G eek βάλτος ‘swamp’ (De ksen 2007: 53). Bu wi h ega d
o he wo d o ma ion, he exac coun e pa o Sla ic *bòl o is Bal ic *bal as
‘whi e’ > Li huanian bál as, La ian ba s ‘whi e’, Old P ussian NL Namuynbal
(De ksen 2015: 80), which should be ela ed o Li huanian bãlas ‘whi e’,
La ian bls ‘pale’; Sla ic *blъ ‘whi e’2 (De ksen 2015: 78), and u he G eek
φαλός· λευκός (Hesych.), φαλιός ‘b igh , whi e-spo ed’ (Call.), e c.; Go hic
*bala-, eco ded by e.g. Ennodius: de equo badio e balane ‘o a g ay and bala
ho se’ (Lehmann 1986: 59; Poko ny 1959: 118–119). These cogna es imply he
ini ial *bh-.
2.2. The al e na i e se o cogna es o Bal ic *balā ‘mud, bog, ma sh’ ag ee
wi h i in bo h wo d o ma ion and seman ics, while he ini ial should be
econs uc ed as IE *b-, e.g. wi hou any aspi a ion.
2.2.1. Wes Ge manic *pōla- (EWAhd 6: cc. 505–507; K oonen 2013: 398:
non-IE):
2 The seman ic ela ion be ween ‘swamp, ma sh, mud’ and ‘whi e’ can be illus a ed by he
anspa en Sla ic examples like Polish biel (dial.), bielaw, Belo ussian bel’ ‘swampy meadow’, bo h
de i able om *blъ ‘whi e’ (De ksen 2007: 53; ESSJ 2: 180).
VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
14 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXXVII
• Old English pōl m. ‘swamp, ma sh’,3 Middle English pōl(e) ‘small body o
s ill wa e , pond, lake, ma sh’, English pool ‘small body o s ill wa e , pond, lake,
ma sh, shallow wa e in a sea’;
• Old English > Old No se poll m. ‘ ound bay, pond, puddle’, Icelandic,
Fa oese pollu m. id., No wegian poll id. (> Saami No . bǫllo ‘small ound jo d’),
plus No n pøl, poil m. ‘na ow bay, pond, ma sh’ > Manx poyll (de V ies 1962:
427);
• Old F isian pōl m. ‘ma sh, muddy hole, hole illed wi h wa e ’, New Wes
F isian poel m./ . ‘s agnan wa e , pond, lake, dep h’;
• Old Low F anconian puol ‘pond, ma sh’ (usually in oponyms), Middle
Du ch, Du ch poel m. ‘swamp, ma sh, pond, s agnan wa e s’;
• Middle Low Ge man pōl, pūl m. ‘puddle, ma sh’; om he e Danish pöl
‘puddle’, No wegian (Bm./Nn.) pøl m. ‘hole illed wi h wa e , puddle, swamp’,
Old Swedish, Swedish pöl id. (wi h he plu al umlau );
• Old High Ge man p uol m. (a- o i-s em), om he 11 h cen . in glosses:
‘ma sh, puddle, hole wi h liquid manu e; cloaca, lama, palus, olu ab um’,
Ge man P uhl m. ‘small pond; accumula ion o di wa e , liquid manu e’.
The leng hened oo owel in Wes Ge manic *pōla- s anding agains he sho
oo owel in Bal ic *balā could be explained ia he ddhi- o ma ion o he
Ge manic o m. The unleng hened oo owel in Ge manic may be iden i ied in
Du ch peel ‘ma sh, swamp’ < Wes Ge manic *pali-. Bou kan & Siebinga (2005:
309) u he added Mode n Eas F isian palle (d) ‘swamp, ma sh’ < *pall-, and
Mode n Icelandic pula id. < *pul-.
F om he pe spec i e o wo d o ma ion, he p o o o ms *pōla- and *pali- may
ep esen a pai , which is analogical o No hwes Ge manic *mō a- ‘swampy
soil’ and Ge manic *ma i- ‘sea’ (Udolph 1994: 135; c . Da ms 1978: 158–166).
2.2.2. Ano he language di e ing be ween he Indo-Eu opean oiced and
oiced aspi a ed s ops is Sansk i . C.C. Uhlenbeck (1898: 99, 97) hough abou
a connec ion wi h Old English pōl m. ‘swamp, ma sh’, Old High Ge man p uol
‘ma sh, puddle, hole wi h liquid manu e’, Li huanian balà ‘mud, bog, ma shy
a ea; spilled wa e , puddle’ on he one hand and Sansk i jambāla- ‘mud, clay,
ma sh’ (Pañca an a, e c.) on he o he hand. Uhlenbeck saw in he Sansk i
wo d a compound, whe e he i s componen should co espond o Vedic
3 The Old English o igin has been asc ibed o such insula Cel ic o ms as Middle Welsh (14 h cen .),
Welsh pwll ‘hole, pond, puddle; mine’, Old Co nish pol ‘pu eus’, Middle Co nish pol ‘hole, well;
di ch, moa ’, Old B e on NL Pul-Bili, Middle B e on pul, poul, B e on poull ‘hole, di ch’; I ish poll
‘hole, opening in ea h’ (Deshayes 2003: 595). Old English pull m. a-s ./ . ō-s . ‘pond, bay’, wi h
he a ian pyll m. (a-s .) ‘na ow bay, a m o a i e , pond’ > Middle English pil ‘na ow bay’,
English pill id., a e p obably a back-bo owing om B i onic.
S aipsniai / A icles 15
Bal ic *balā ‘mud, bog, ma sh’ a he Indo-Eu opean Backd op
jm- ‘ea h’. On he o he hand, Kuipe (1948: 60–61) saw he e a loan o
Mundic o igin on he basis o San ali jab jab, jb jb, jb, jbh ‘we , mois ,
damp’, jb ‘ o di y, we , oll in mud o wa e ’, jubhi ‘ma shy, swampy, boggy’,
Munda i jubhi, Ho jobe ‘mud’, Kha ia jobhi ‘swampy g ound’, e c. In p inciple,
i is legi ima e o hink abou a hypo he ical hyb id Mundic – Indo-A yan
compound *jab-bāla- whose bo h componen s bea a mo e o less iden ical
meaning ‘mud’. The componen *bāla- could e lec bo h *beHlo-/*boHlo-
and *bolo- in ag eemen wi h Lex B ugmann o i s leng hened ddhi- a ian .
Al hough his idea is a ac i e, i emains only a specula ion.
2.2.3. A mo e p obable ela i e could be ound in he p e-Romance dialec ism
bola ‘swamp, ma sh’, which was eco ded in Piemon in No h I aly and he
can on Ticino/Tessin in Sou h Swiss, in he locali y A bedo. Meye -Lübke
(1935: n. 1191b) hough abou i s Gaulish o Ligu ian o igin and iden i ied
i s ela i es in Ge man P uhl and Li huanian balà. Bu he Ligu ian language
was p obably no used so a om he Medi e anean coas . Bo h Piemon and
Ticino a e e i o ies whe e Lepon ic was used. Independen o he Cel ic4 o
Ligu ian o igin o bola, he ini ial b- can e lec bo h IE *b- & *bh-, while he
oo - owel o only IE *ŏ.
2.2.4. Du idano (1969: 19) o e ed o connec he Dacian oponym Βάλαυσον
(P ocopius o Caesa ea, De Aedi iciis 4.4: a cas le in he dis ic o Skassa ena)
wi h Old P ussian Bolausen, e ymologizing bo h on he basis o Li huanian
balà ‘swamp, ma sh’ o bãlas ‘whi e’, and he Li huanian de i a ional su ix
-aus-, which o ms e.g. he Li huanian hyd onyms such as Lẽ ausas, Smukaũsis.
Al e na i ely, Du idano hough abou a compound whose second componen
should be he oo *h2es- (c . Poko ny 1959: 90; Kümmel, LIV 275–276), which
o ms such hyd onyms as he name o he I alian i e Ausa (c . K ahe 1964:
44) o *Hos-( -) > Old P ussian aus o ‘mou h’, Russian usťje ‘ i e mou h’, e c.
(Poko ny 1959: 784–85).
2.2.5. One could add ye ano he un ecognized cogna e, Sla ic *ǫb(ъ)lъ
‘sou ce, sp ing; well’.5
4 Ku yłowicz (1925: 208) ied o iden i y ano he Cel ic candida e o ela ionship in some Gallo-
Romance e ms e lec ing he hypo he ical Gaulish s a ing-poin *balko-, which is econs uc ed
on he basis o o ms such as Old P o ençal balc ‘humide’, Fo ezanish bauche ‘i is d’é ang’,
Dauphinish bauchi ‘ oin de ma ais don on ai li iè e au bé ail’ (FEW I: 211). Wa bu g (l.c.)
u he men ioned Romanian bâlc ‘swamp’ and I ish balc ‘ge ockne e Lehm; K us e, die sich
in olge de Hi ze au de Obe läche de E de bilde ’. The s em *balko- is compa ible wi h he
o ms analyzed in § 2.2. only i i is de i ed om *bHko- (c . Zai 2012: 82–84).
5 In he Sla ic languages he e is a ich e minology applied o sou ces o wells: e.g. *jьz ojь, *jьz okъ,
*jьz o ъ, *ključь, *koldězь, *k ynica, *oko/*okъno, *ǫb(ъ)lъ, *po my, * od(ь)nikъ, *sopo ъ, *s ubьlь,
*s udьnьja, * ymę, * i ъ, * (ь) ělo/* (ь) ǫ ъkъ/* (ь) ulja, *že dlo (see Udolph 1979).

VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
16 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXXVII
2.2.5.1. In he appella i e unc ion i appea s only in he Sou h Sla ic b anch
and on he no hwes pe iphe y o he Wes Sla ic b anch:
Chu ch Sla onic (o Russian edac ion) оуболъ ‘φρέαρ, pu eum’, i.e. ‘well’,
eco ded in Патерикъ синайский, . 143 (S ezne skij III: 1116):
• жена нѣкто хо҃любива оуболъ рыяше и, глоубиноу прѣмногоу копавъши,
не обрѣте воды (‘pu eum odi ’).
Възя ст҃го (икону) и низьвѣсивъше ѥго въ оуболъ, абиѥ скоро вода изиде
въ кладѧзѣ.
Al hough he e a e phone ic and mo phological ea u es o he Eas Sla ic
p o enance in his ex , he lexical Russisms a e missing and so i is possible o
accep he Sou h Sla ic o igin o he wo d оуболъ (c . Sławski 1971: 445).
• Bulga ian ắbel (Paza džik, P esla , No heas ), ôbel (Rodopi), ắmbel
(Solunsko) ‘sou ce, sp ing, well’ (BER I: 201).
• Macedonian jabel ‘hole illed wi h wa e , wa e hole, pool, sou ce’, dial. jubel
‘pond’ (S ama oski 1973: 78).
• Se bian (Mon eneg o) ȕbao, gen. ȗbla ‘hole digged ou in he ea h,
whe e he wa e is d awn; kind o well’ (Ka adžić 1935: 788; Skok III: 533–
34); Se bian a ch. ub(ь)lь ‘piscina ecep aculum aquae’: право нис потокь подь
оубьль (Daničić 1864: 343); Se bian (Koso o) ubo, ubla ‘measu e o capaci y
( o liquids)’ (Elezo ić 1935: 376).
• Se bian > Albanian ubël, pl. ubla ‘well, sha , hillside well’ (Popo ić 1960:
378; Sławski 1971: 448; Udolph 1979: 439; O el 1998: 482 su p isingly
connec ed he Albanian wo d wi h Go hic ubils ‘e il’).
• Polabian * bål ‘well’ is econs uc ed on he basis o eco ds such as
Wumbâl & Wûmbâl ‘B unnen’ (Hennig: Vocabula ium Venedicum), Wungwool
‘De B unnen’ (Vocabula ium e Ph aseologicum Vandalicum), Wungwóol (Ecca d),
Wungwōl ‘Un pui s’ (P e inge ) – see Polański 1994: 1040.
2.2.5.2. Taking in accoun he oponymic dis ibu ion o *ǫb(ъ)lъ and i s
de i a i es, i is common in all Sla ic b anches:
• G eece: NL Ἄμπλιανη, Ὀμπλοῦ Μονή, Βαμπέλι, Βόμπλο (Vasme 1941:
24, 80, 136, 190).
Albania: NL Vunbeli – nea he ci y o Elbasan (Udolph 1979: 440).
• Bulga ia: NF Văbela – ibu a y o he Luda Kamčija i e by Aspa uxo o
in he sou h o he Va na egion; NL Văbel – Nikopolsko by he Danube in he
no h o Bulga ia; Vbela – by Le oče o, he egion o Smoljansko in he sou h
o Bulga ia, e c. (BER I: 200).
• Macedonia: NF Jábel; NL Jablinje & Jabliš a; Vumbel (Udolph 1979:
440–441).
S aipsniai / A icles 17
Bal ic *balā ‘mud, bog, ma sh’ a he Indo-Eu opean Backd op
• Mon eneg o: Uba, gen. Ubla – 2 hyd onyms by Nikšić; NF Uba – by
Boka Ko o ska; Ublica – by Danilo g ad; Ubalac – by Nikšić; NL Ubalac – by
Podgo ica (Udolph 1979: 440–441).
• C oa ia: Ubla – hyd onym on he island o B ač; bay Ubli wi h wo sou ces
on he island o Las o o; NF Ombla – by Dub o nik ( ia he I alian media ion).
• Slo enia: NF Ubel ( i s 1260); NL (Malo, Veliko) Ubelsko, 1402 Vbelczk
(Bezlaj II: 282).
Slo akia: NL Ubľa, 1773, 1808 Ubly, Ubla – illage by he ci y o Humenné
(Maj án 1972: 433); NF Ubľa = Ublianka ( ibu a y o he Uh i e ) – dis ic
o Snina, no heas Slo akia and he adjacen pa o Uk aine (Udolph 1979:
441; SHU 577).
• Czechia: NL Úblo, 1377 Ubla – illage by he ci y o K no ; Ublo ( om he
15 h cen .) – illage by he ci y o Vizo ice (Hosák, Š ámek 1980: 628).
• Ge many: NL Wamli z, 1261 Wammeli z – dis ic o Randow; NF Vamlei z –
by he ci y o Gusbo n; Fammels – by he ci y o Tollendo ; Fummels – by he
ci y o Teichlosen – all in he neighbo hood o Hanno e (Udolph 1979: 441).
• Poland: NL Wąblany, 1470–1480 Wamblany, 1508 Wablani – dis ic o
Opoczno in sou h-cen al Poland; FN Ubliczyn(y) – dis ic o H ubieszów in
Sou heas Poland; NL 1583 Ublišče – dis ic o Równe in Sou heas Poland ill
1939, oday Ri ne in Wes e n Uk aine (Udolph 1979: 441).
• Bela us: NL Úbeľ – o he sou heas o Minsk (Udolph 1979: 441).
• Russia: Ublja – hyd onym a he bo de o he o me Vo oněž and Ku sk
gube niyas (Udolph 1979: 441).
2.2.5.3. Up o he p esen ime se e al a emp s ha e been o e ed o
e ymologize *ǫb(ъ)lъ:
2.2.5.3.1. B ückne (1918: 185) sepa a ed he Sou h Sla ic o ms whose
ini ial he de i ed om * ъ- (like Miklosich 1886: 396), om Polabian wungwool
‘well’, which he connec ed wi h Czech ú al ‘ alley basin’ and Polish wąwal <
*ǫ alъ. On he o he hand, Skok (III: 534) ied o connec he Sou h Sla ic
o ms wi h Polish wąwal.
2.2.5.3.2. Mladeno (1941: 85) judged ha *ǫb(ъ)lъ ep esen ed an adap a ion
o Middle G eek ἔμβολος, bu i did no mean ‘aqueduc ’, bu ‘ oo ed s ee ’
(c . also Vasme III: 169 who ejec ed his idea).
2.2.5.3.3. Geo gie e al. (BER I: 200) saw a connec ion wi h Vedic
ámbha- & ámbu- ‘wa e ’, abh á- ‘ ain cloud’; Young A es an aβ a- id.; A menian
amb & amp ‘cloud’; G eek ὄμβρος ‘ ain’; La in imbe ‘ ain’, al hough he e lexes
*bh & *b acilla e he e. The same idea was de eloped by Sławski (1971: 449)
who de e mined he de i a ional su ix *-ъlъ, which he also iden i ied in Sla ic
*ǫgъlъ ‘co ne , angle’ ~ La in angulus id., o Sla ic *pьkъlъ ‘ esin’ ~ La in pix,
gen. picis id. (c . Sławski 1974: 111).
VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
18 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXXVII
2.2.5.3.4. Rozwadowski (1948: 238) accep ed he Sou h Sla ic – Polabian
isogloss wi h he ini ial p e ix *ǫ-. His idea was de eloped by Sławski (1971:
449) who hough abou he compound *ǫ- + *bhel- whose Sla ic con inuan s
he iden i ied e.g. in Polish dial. beł ‘whi lpool’, Slo enian bôl ‘go ge’ < *bъl ъ,
which may be supplemen ed by Uk ainian boč ‘deep place in he i e hollowed
ou by wa e ’ < *bъl jь (ESSJ 3: 120).
2.2.5.3.5. The p esen new e ymology ollows he ideas o Rozwadowski and
Sławski bu also modi ies hem. The Sla ic p e ix *ǫ- had wo unc ions: (1) ‘in,
inside’; (2) ‘un-, -less, wi hou ’:
(1a) Old Chu ch Sla onic ǫdolъ m., ǫdolь . ‘ alley’, Polish wądoł, Russian
udol id. s. Old Chu ch Sla onic dolь ‘ alley’ (Janyško á, ESJS 3: 139; Dunkel,
LIPP 2: 224);
(1b) Sla ic *ǫ ozъ > Se bo-C oa ian ú oz ‘pa o cou ya d, which is he
en ance o wagons’, Czech ú oz ‘ alley basin’, Polish wąwóz ‘deep alley,
hollowed oad’ s. Sla ic * ozъ ‘wagon’ (Bo yś 2005: 683);
(2a) Old Chu ch Sla onic ǫ odъ ‘ oolish pe son, dunce’, Russian u ód
‘c ippled pe son’ s. Old Czech ne ódcě ‘un easonable o oolish pe son’, Old
Chu ch Sla onic ne odi i ‘ o neglec , dis ega d, no ca e’ (Janyško á, ESJS 10:
618; Ša apa ko á, ESJS 13: 773; Dunkel, LIPP 2: 535);
(2b) Old Chu ch Sla onic ǫ ьlъ ‘holey’ s. ьlo ‘bo om’, hence ‘holey’ <
‘bo omless’ (Janyško á, ESJS 10: 619–620; Dunkel, LIPP 2: 535).
I is di icul o in e p e *ǫ- in Sla ic *ǫ-b(ъ)lъ as ‘in, inside’, since he e is
no adequa e unc ion o *b(ъ)lъ.6 Taking in o accoun he nega i e unc ion o
he p e ix *ǫ-, he independen oo *b(ъ)l- should be mo e o less an onymous
o he meaning ‘sou ce, sp ing’. A good candida e o a cogna e o he Sla ic
o m *b(ъ)l- in he ze o-g ade o ablau may be Bal ic *balā ‘mud, bog, ma sh’
in he ull (o) g ade o ablau .
Wi h ega d o he p eceding a gumen s, i is possible o analyze Sla ic
*ǫ-b(ъ)lo as a la e IE compound *-bo ‘unmuddy’, simila o G eek ἄθολος
‘no u bid, clea ’ (Luc. His . Consc . 51) om θολός ‘mud, di (esp. in wa e )’
(A is . F . 311).
6 Pe haps wi h he excep ion o he oo *bhleH- > G eek φλύω ‘ o see he, boil o e ’; La in luō,
-e e ‘ o low, un (o wa e s), lu ius ‘ i e ’ (Schi me , Kümmel, LIV 90; de Vaan 2008: 228),
al hough he in e nal s uc u e o Sla ic *b(ъ)lъ emains unce ain, pe haps *bhHu-?
S aipsniai / A icles 19
Bal ic *balā ‘mud, bog, ma sh’ a he Indo-Eu opean Backd op
3. SUMMARY OF THE PROBABLE
INDO-EUROPEAN COGNATES
Summing up, he closes cogna es o Bal ic *balā ‘mud, bog, ma sh’ can
be iden i ied in Wes Ge manic *pōla- ‘ma sh, swamp’, wi h he apophonic
a ian s *pali-, *pallo & *pulo, Lepon ic o Cisalpine Gaulish (?) *bolā ‘ma sh,
swamp’, hypo he ical Dacian *bal-, and Sla ic *ǫb(ъ)lъ ‘sou ce, sp ing; well’,
in e p e able as *-bo ‘unmuddy’.
4. DISCUSSION OF THE HYPOTHETICAL
ETYMOLOGY BASED ON THE ROOT
*guebh- ‘MARSH, SWAMP, MUD’
Abs ac ing om he doub ul exis ence o Indo-A yan *bāla- ‘mud’, hese
ela ed o ms a e known only in he Eu opean b anches o Indo-Eu opean. This
limi ed geog aphic dis ibu ion and he ini ial *b- quali ies he e ymon among
candida es on i s p e-Indo-Eu opean o igin, especially om he poin o iew
o he Leiden Indo-Eu opean School (see explici ly. Bou kan, Siebinga 2005:
309; K oonen 2013: 398). Pa adoxically, o he Leiden ep esen a i es o e ed a
solu ion, which elimina es he a gumen o he ini ial *b-. In he dialogue wi h
he p esen au ho Alexande Lubo sky (see also P onk 2013: 4, e e ing o
Lubo sky’s lec u e on he same opic om June 18, 2012, Müns e ) men ioned
ano he IE e ymon wi h he ini ial *b- ep esen ed by Vedic bála- n. ‘s eng h’,
bálīyān ‘s onge ’, báliṣṭha- ‘s onges ’; G eek βελτίων & βέλτερον ‘be e ’,
βέλτιστος & βέλτατος ‘bes ’; La in dē-bilis ‘weak; c ippled’; Old Chu ch Sla onic
bol’ii ‘bigge ’, bolje ‘mo e’ (B ugmann 1897: 507, § 553; Poko ny 1959: 96;
Šau & Ha lo á, ESJS 2: 72). Lubo sky in e ed he de elopmen o he ini ial
*b- in he consonan clus e *dbh- > *db- > *b-, while bo h consonan s we e
p ese ed in he o ms o he ull ablau g ade Old Chu ch Sla onic debelьs o
‘ hickness, a ness; oughness’, udobelě i & udebelě i ‘ o become a y’; La ian
dàbls, dabļš ‘ ank, abundan ’, besides Old P ussian debīkan ‘big’ o Hi i e dapiš
‘e e y, all; many’ wi hou he l-ex ension (ESSJ 4: 201–203; Skalka, ESJS 2:
125 men ioned he Sla ic de i a ional su ix *-elъ, o ming also o he adjec i es,
e.g. * ęželъ, * eselъ; P onk 2013: 4).
The econs uc ion o he aspi a ed *bh is con i med by he ac ha be o e
his labial he e is no leng hened owel in Bal o-Sla ic, while *b would imply
he leng hening in ag eemen wi h Lex Win e & Ko land . A good candida e
o he analogical solu ion is he IE oo *guebh-:
VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
26 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXXVII
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S aipsniai / A icles 27
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28 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXXVII
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Acknowledgemen : The au ho would like o exp ess his g a i ude o Ha ald
Bichlmeie o his heal hy c i icism: he was igh in all poin s. His hanks also belong
o John D. Beng son o his co ec ion o English.
S aipsniai / A icles 29
Bal ic *balā ‘mud, bog, ma sh’ a he Indo-Eu opean Backd op
Bal ų *balā ‘pu as, liūnas, pelkė’
indoeu opiečių kalbų kon eks e
SANTRAUKA
S aipsnyje ap a iami a imiausi giminiški žodžiai bal iškam e minui *balā ‘pu as,
liūnas, pelkė’, ku ie y a ak uojami kaip sinonimai aka ų ge manų *pōla- i *pali-, islandų
pula, kel ų *bolā i dakų kalbos oponimui Βάλαυσον. Šios o mos jau anksčiau bu o
laikomos bal iškajai o mai giminiškais žodžiais. S aipsnyje į edamas i sla iškas e minas
*ǫb(ъ)lъ ‘ e smė, šal inis; šulinys’, ku is čia analizuojamas kaip *-bo ‘nepu inas’ = ‘skaid us
( anduo)’. Ge maniška žodžio p adžios *p- nu odo e ą ide. *b-. S aipsnyje analizuojama,
a šis e imonas galė ų bū i nulinio balsių kai os laipsnio šaknį *guebh- ‘liūnas, pelkė’
p aplečiančio elemen o -l- pa yzdys, emian is Aleksand o Lubo skio idėja apie p og esy inę
asimiliaciją žodžio p adžios junginyje, šiuo a eju *gubh- > *gub- > *b-. A sakymas y a
„ aip“, ačiau sąlygos y a okios sudė ingos, kad adicinė ekons ukcija su žodžio p adžios
*b- i pailgėjusiu ddhi da iniu ge manų kalbose a odo p iim inesnė e sija.
Į eik a 2022 m. bi želio 27 d.
VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
Depa men o Linguis ics and Bal ic S udies
Masa yk Uni e si y
No áka 1, CZ-60200 B no
blaze[email p o ec ed]