bỳstrъ

bỳstrъ Grammatical information: adj. o Accent paradigm: a Proto-Slavic meaning: `quick'

Page in Trubačev: III 153-154

Old Church Slavic:

bystrъ `quick' [adj o]

Russian:

býstryj `quick' [adj o]

Czech:

bystrý `quick, sharp-witted' [adj o]

Slovak:

bystrý `quick, sharp-witted' [adj o]

Polish:

bystry `quick, sharp-witted' [adj o]

Serbo-Croatian:

bȉstar `clear, transparent, quick' [adj o]

Slovene:

bístǝr `quick, vivacious, transparent' [adj o]

Bulgarian:

bístăr `clear, transparent' [adj o]

Page in Pokorny: 146

Comments: Attempts have been made to connect *bỳstrъ with -> bъ̀drъ `cheerful, lively', which derives from PIE *bʰudʰ-. This etymology fails to provide an explanation for the acute *y, however. We could assume that the root is simply *by- `be', but in that case the origin of the the suffix would be unclear. In my opinion, it is not unattractive to assume a connection with Skt. bhū́ṣati `support, be active for assume, strengthen', the root of which is probably an s-enlargement of *bʰu- `be'.