Nad původem českého leknouti z hlediska opozice homonymie a polysémie
On the origin of the Czech leknouti in light of the counteraction of homonymy and polysemy

Summary/Abstract: The Czech verb leknouti ’to die [about fish]’ appears for the first time in a text dated 1596. The author explains its origin on the basis of the radix *lenk-/lonk- ’bow’, which is also common for the verb leknout se ’to get frightened’. The meaning ’to die’ can be deduced either from the semantic model ‚bent’ > ’crooked’ > ’different’ > ’wrong’ > ’functionless’ > ’mendacious’ > ’devilish, underworld’ > ’lifeless, dead’, or from the model ’bent’ > ’crooked’ > ’writhed in pain, ill or tortured’ > ’lifeless, dead’. The hypothesis is supported by the Old Czech verbs usléci ’to die’ a uslúčiti ’to torture, to torment’. Despite the common etymological origin it is necessary – from the viewpoint of the Czech lexical system – to interpret both verbs leknouti and leknouti se as two unrelated verbs because their both formal and semantic development had run completely independently.

• Details
• Contents