K ETYMOLOGIJI PSŁ. SLĚPЪ/SLEPЪ
ON THE ETYMOLOGY OF PSL SLEP-/SLĚP

Summary/Abstract: This article explains the hitherto unexplained variation of the root *slep/slěp- ‘blind’ which results from an old opposition of the causative (lengthened grade) vs. regular root (regular grade). This indicates a connection with the Lithuanian silpnas as a zero-grade root for the Slavic word which previously had no convincing parallels in other languages. Semantically, a connection with words meaning ‘sticky’ (as postulated by Šewc 1978 and others) should be rejected: they are neither phonetically nor semantically convincing. The preference is for the interpretation of blindness as a special kind of weakness.

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