Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/belnъ

This Proto-Slavic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Slavic

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-n-o-. Indo-European cognates include Old English beolone, beolene, belene (“henbane”), Danish bylne, buln-urt (“henbane”), Gaulish belenuntia (“henbane”), Belenos (“a god”). Also compare the s-stem variant Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-es-, whence Old High German bilisa, bilesa, bilsa (“henbane”), Spanish belesa, velesa (“henbane”), and probably Welsh bela, bele (“henbane”).

Noun

*belnъ m

1. henbane

Declension

Declension of *belnъ (hard o-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*belnъ	*belna	*belni
genitive	*belna	*belnu	*belnъ
dative	*belnu	*belnoma	*belnomъ
accusative	*belnъ	*belna	*belny
instrumental	*belnъmь, *belnomь*	*belnoma	*belny
locative	*belně	*belnu	*belněxъ
vocative	*belne	*belna	*belni

^* -ъmь in North Slavic, -omь in South Slavic.

Alternative forms

• *bel(e)na
• *belenъ
• *bolnъ

Related terms

• *belniti

Descendants

• Church Slavonic: беленъ (belenŭ, “henbane”) (Russian)

• East Slavic:
  • Russian: белен (belen, “henbane”) (dialectal), белена́ (belená, “henbane”)
  • Ukrainian: беле́на (beléna)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: блян (bljan, “day-dream”), блен (blen, “day-dream”)
  • Macedonian: блен (blen, “dream, day-dream”) (poetic), буника (bunika)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Unspecified script: [Term?] (“henbane”) (rare), [Term?] (“henbane”) (rare), [Term?] (“fool, idiot”), бу̑н, бу̀ника

    Latin: blȇn, blȇm, belèna, bȗn, bùnika

  • Slovene: blen (“henbane”)
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: blín (“henbane”), blim (“henbane”) (dialectal)
  • Old Polish: bleń
    • Polish: bieluń

• • Slovak: blen (“henbane, bitterness”)

Further reading

• Derksen, Rick (2019) “‘Henbane’ in Slavic”, in U. Bläsing, J. Dum-Tragut, T.M. van Lint, editors, Armenian, Hittite, and Indo-European Studies: A Commemoration Volume for Jos J.S. Weitenberg (Hebrew University Armenian Studies; 15), Leuven: Peeters, pages 113–119
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “белена́”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress