brьdnǫti

brьdnǫti Grammatical information: v. Proto-Slavic meaning: `wade'

Page in Trubačev: III 67

Czech:

břednouti `melt, (obs.) wade' [verb]

Slovak:

bŕdnut' `wade, roam' [verb]

Polish:

brnąć `wade' [verb]

Proto-Balto-Slavic reconstruction: bird-

Lithuanian:

brìsti `wade' [verb], breñda [3sg], brìdo [3sgprt]

Latvian:

brist `wade' [verb]

Indo-European reconstruction: bʰrdʰ-

IE meaning: wade

Page in Pokorny: 164

Comments: One would have suspected *bьrdnǫti, but Cz. břednouti points to *brьd. Apparently the zero grade of the root was influenced by the full grade of other forms. Likewise, Proto-East Baltic *bristi must have ousted *birsti < *bʰrdʰ-ti on the analogy of forms with full grade. How old the metathesis actually is, cannot be determined.