Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/klepati

Often viewed as expressive or onomatopoeic in nature, from Proto-Indo-European *klep- (“to clap, to steal”). Compare Proto-Germanic *klappōną and its descendants.

*klepàti impf (perfective *klepnǫti)[1][2]

1. to knock, to clap

   → to rivet (metals)

   → to wink, to blink

   → to shut/open a valve

2. to allude, to hint
3. to accuse

• *klepiti (“to slam”)
• *klopiti (“to trap”)
• *klepъ (“clap, signal”)
• *klepotъ (“slander”)
• *klepьcь (“lid, wicket”)
• *klepьnъ (“stained”)

• *klepačь (“eyelid”)
• *klepadlo (“rivet”)
• *doklepati (“to accomplish barely, with great hardship”)
• *jьzklepati (“to carve up”)
• *naklepati (“to get a smudge”)
• *oklepati (“to stain”)
• *priklepati (“to chain together”)
• *sъklepati (“to come across”)
• *uklepati (“to spoil”)
• *zaklepati (“to knock up”)

• East Slavic:
  • Belarusian: клепа́ць (kljepácʹ)
  • Russian: клепа́ть (klepátʹ)
  • Ukrainian: клепа́ти (klepáty)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic: клепати (klepati)

    ⇒ Romanian: clipi (“to blink”)

  • Bulgarian: кле́пя (klépja), кле́пам (klépam)
  • Macedonian: клепа (klepa)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: клѐпати

    Latin script: klèpati

  • Slovene: klepáti (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: klepat
  • Polish: klepać
  • Slovak: klepať
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: klepaś
    • Upper Sorbian: klepać

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “клепать”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1983), “*klepati”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 10 (*klepačь – *konь), Moscow: Nauka, page 07
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1979), “клепя¹, клепеш”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volumes 2 (и – крепя̀), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, page 437