Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/želěti

From Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-; see also *žalь (“grief, pity”).^[1] Baltic cognates include Lithuanian gėlà (“acute pain”), gélti (“to hurt sharply, to sting”), gi̇̀lti (“to become sick”), 1sg. gi̇̀lstu, gilaũ (?), Latvian dzel̂t (“to stab”). Indo-European cognates include Old High German quāla (“violent death”), quelan (“to feel a sharp pain”), Old Saxon quāla (“pain, torture”), Old English cwelan (“to die”), English quell, Old Armenian կեղեմ (kełem, “to torment”), Old Armenian կեղ (keł, “sore, ulcer”). Possibly cognate with Ancient Greek βελόνη (belónē, “blade, nail”) and βούλομαι (boúlomai, “to want, will”).

*želěti^[1]

2. to regret

• *želьba (“grief, sorrow”)

• Church Slavonic: желѣти (želěti, “to regret, to grieve”) (Russian)

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: жeлѣти (želěti)
    • Old Ruthenian: жалѣ́ти (žalě́ti)
      • Ukrainian: жалі́ти (žalíty)
    • Russian: жале́ть (žalétʹ)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: желе́я (želéja) (dialectal), жале́я (žaléja) (standard, re-shaped under the influence of *žalь)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: žěleti, žěliti
    • Czech: želet
    • → Old Polish: żeleć
  • Slovak: želeť

• Chernykh, P. Ja. (1999) “жале́ть”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), 3rd edition, volume 1 (а – пантомима), Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 290
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “жале́ть”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress

From Proto-Indo-European *(h₁)gʷʰel-. Cognate with Ancient Greek θέλω (thélō, “to wish, to want”).^[1] Per Chernykh also cognate with Old Norse gilja (“to lure, to seduce, to tempt”).^[2]

*želěti^[1]

2. to wish, to want

• *želàti

• *žeľa (“wish, desire”)
• *želьba (“wish”)

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: желати (želati), 1sg. желаю (želaju); literary желѣти (želěti), 1sg. желю (želju), желѣю (želěju)
    • Russian: жела́ть (želátʹ), 1sg. жела́ю (želáju)
    • Ukrainian: жела́ти (želáty)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Cyrillic: желѣти (želěti), 1sg. желѣѭ (želějǫ); желати (želati), 1sg. желаѭ (želajǫ)

    Glagolitic: [Term?]

  • Bulgarian: жела́я (želája)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: жѐљети, 1sg. жѐлӣм

    Latin: žèljeti, 1sg. žèlīm

  • Slovene: želẹ́ti (tonal orthography), 1sg. želím (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: želeti, 1sg. želeji
  • Slovak: želieť
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: želić

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “жела́ть”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress