mavati

majati; mavati Grammatical information: v. Proto-Slavic meaning: `wave, beckon'

Page in Trubačev: XVII 133-135, XVIII 21-22

Old Church Slavic:

namaiaaxǫ (Supr.) `beckoned' [3pl ipf]

Church Slavic:

pomavati (RuCS) `give a signal with one's hand or head' [verb]

Russian:

májat' `exhaust, harass' [verb];

mavat' (dial.) `wave' [verb]

Old Russian:

majati `beckon, agitate, vibrate' [verb];

pomavati `give a signal with one's hand or head' [verb]

Czech:

mávati `wave' [verb]

Slovak:

mávat' `wave' [verb]

Lower Sorbian:

mawaś `wave, rock' [verb]

Serbo-Croatian:

mȁjati `beckon, keep, detain' [verb]

Slovene:

májati `move about, shake' [verb], májam [1sg], májem [1sg]

Bulgarian:

mája `dawdle, detain' [verb]

Proto-Balto-Slavic reconstruction: maH-

Lithuanian:

móti `beckon' [verb]

Latvian:

mãt `beckon' [verb]

Indo-European reconstruction: meh₂-

IE meaning: beckon

Page in Pokorny: 693

Comments: It is clear that *majati and *mavati continue one and the same verb, j and v being "Hiatustilger". While majati `to beckon' cannot be separated from Lith. móti , Latv. mãt `id.', majati `to detain, to tire, to exhaust' has been linked to Germanic forms like OHG muoan and Go. afmauiʮs (cf. Stang 1972: 35). The respective roots in Pokorny are mā- (693) and mō- (746). If we assume that *majati indeed continues *meh₂- as well as *meh₃- (LIV: 382), we have to settle for semantic arguments. Since it is also possible to argue on semantic grounds that *majati ultimately continues *meh₂- `to beckon' only (Trubačëv XVII 134), it is to a certain extent a matter of choice which solution one prefers.

Other cognates:

Go. afmauiʮs `tired' [ppp];

OHG muoan `alarm, worry' [verb]