Lithuanian: gyvatė (snake)

[AndrasBP]

Hello,

The Lithuanian word "gyvatė" (snake) apparently contains the same root as the word "gyvas" (living, alive).
Is this the same semantic development as that of English "quick", first meaning "alive" and later "fast-moving"?

 

[ahvalj]

Apparently, not. Fraenkel E · 1962 · Litauisches etymologisches Wörterbuch.pdf: 155 suggests:

 

[AndrasBP]

Thank you for the prompt reply.

Does this mean that "gyti" (to protect) and "gyvas" share the same root?

EDIT: "to protect" is "ginti"

 

[ahvalj]

Yes, of course. Gyti is first of all "to heal up; to recover". The original meaning still seems to have been simply "to live":

(Rix H, Kümmel M, Zehnder T, … · 2001 · Lexicon der indogermanischen Verben. Die Wurzeln und ihre Primärstammbildungen: 215).

The Present dzīvu is residually found in Latvian (above and Derksen R · 2015 · Etymological dictionary of the Baltic inherited lexicon: 179); in Prussian, the verb retains its old meaning and u̯e-Present: gīwasi "you live" = Old Indic jīvasi = Latin vīvis < *gʷihₒ-u̯-e-si.​

 

[AndrasBP]

Interesting. This semantic connection was not obvious for me. "To keep something alive", that is?
Do you know of any other languages where "protect" and "living" are etymologically related?

 

[ahvalj]

Interesting. This semantic connection was not obvious for me. "To keep something alive", that is?
Do you know of any other languages where "protect" and "living" are etymologically related?

I think Fraenkel meant a different development: "life" → "dwelling" (gyvata; cp. in Slavic bytъ "process of living" and "place of living") ⇒ "somebody related to dwelling" → "protector of dwelling" (gyvatė).

 

[AndrasBP]

Gyti is first of all "to heal up; to recover"

Yes, that's right. I mixed it up with "ginti".

 

[OzzyM]

Interestingly, snake and alive are very similar in Semitic languages as well (e.g. Arabic, Aramaic).