# Slavic root *ljubiti (любити) for 'to love'



## Vasya_Polak

Split from here.


mateo19 said:


> Ukrainian:
> to fall in love with someone - полюбити когось
> to fall out of love with someone - розлюбити когось



Also which languages have root  lub or люб  in word love.
Russian have and Ukrainin too.


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## TriglavNationalPark

Vasya_Polak said:


> Also which languages have root  lub or люб  in word love.
> Russian have and ukrainin too.



Slovenian has *ljubezen* and BCS has *ljubav*.

(P.S. This may need to be split into another thread.)


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## Duya

TriglavNationalPark said:


> Slovenian has *ljubezen* and BCS has *ljubav*.



...but in BCS, the verb (to love) is *voljeti* (*voleti*). "Ljubiti" chiefly means "to kiss", and its meaning "to love" is archaic.


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## TriglavNationalPark

Duya said:


> ...but in BCS, the verb (to love) is *voljeti* (*voleti*). "Ljubiti" chiefly means "to kiss", and its meaning "to love" is archaic.



Right; I thought that Vasya was asking about the noun. (The verb "to love" is *ljubiti* in Slovenian.)


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## Коста

Duya said:


> ...but in BCS, the verb (to love) is *voljeti* (*voleti*). "Ljubiti" chiefly means "to kiss", and its meaning "to love" is archaic.


 
You are right, but it betrays certain _inconsistencies_ in the standard language stemming from the standardization of the vernacular over a century ago. Волети  comes from воља (will, desire), and љубити from abstract love, as in Greek _αγáπη_ (agápe).  

That's why _љубити _is still used for _love_ (rather than kiss) where _desire_ is not a factor, such as _љубити чедо_ (to love a child) or _љубити Господа_ (to love the Lord). And, likewise, _целивати_ is used for "to kiss" in a similar context.


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## phosphore

_Ljubiti_ might be understood as _to love_ only in a poem from half a century ago or more, or in some expressions; otherwise, it means _to kiss_ and nothing else. _Celivati_ is not used anymore, it survived only in a few expressions.


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## TriglavNationalPark

Коста said:


> That's why _љубити _is still used for _love_ (rather than kiss) where _desire_ is not a factor, such as _љубити чедо_ (to love a child) or _љубити Господа_ (to love the Lord).



That's interesting; in Slovenian *ljubiti* is used in cases where desire _is_ a factor (*ljubiti ženo* = to love a wife), whereas *imeti rad* is used where it _isn't_ a factor (*imeti rad otroka* = to love a child).

*Voliti* (from *volja* = will) means "to vote (for someone in an election)" in Slovenian.


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## Mishe

TriglavNationalPark said:


> That's interesting; in Slovenian *ljubiti* is used in cases where desire _is_ a factor (*ljubiti ženo* = to love a wife), whereas *imeti rad* is used where it _isn't_ a factor (*imeti rad otroka* = to love a child).
> 
> *Voliti* (from *volja* = will) means "to vote (for someone in an election)" in Slovenian.



It's funny how Slovenian and Serbo-Croatian have so many false friends. I should make a list, it would be very, very long. 

About ljubiti: I think it could be used also in a non-sexual way: 

Ljubi svojega bližnjega kakor samega sebe. 

Ljubiti boga. 

It's a bit archaic used in this sense probably. However, ljubiti is used very rarely, or should I say in very few situations in any sense.


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## Коста

phosphore said:


> _Ljubiti_ might be understood as _to love_ only in a poem from half a century ago or more, or in some expressions; otherwise, it means _to kiss_ and nothing else. _Celivati_ is not used anymore, it survived only in a few expressions.


In Serbian љубити (by itself) means to _love _although it is not used very frequently. Љубити _се_ means to _kiss _and пољубити to _give a kiss_. 

Целивати, to kiss, is not used very much nowadays (is archaic) just as _благодарим _instead _of хвала _for _thanks_. Nonetheless, both terms are _legitimate_. The original meaning of _хвала_ was to _give praise_ (from _хвалити_).


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## phosphore

Are you saying that the verb _ljubiti_ is seldom used or that it is rarely used in this other sense?

_Ljubiti se_ means _to be kissing *each other*_; _ljubiti_ means _to be kissing_, while _poljubiti_ means _to kiss_.


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## Коста

phosphore said:


> Are you saying that the verb _ljubiti_ is seldom used or that it is rarely used in this other sense?
> 
> _Ljubiti se_ means _to be kissing *each other*_; _ljubiti_ means _to be kissing_, while _poljubiti_ means _to kiss_.


I am saying that _љубити _by itself means also to _love_ (as in _љубити ближњeгa свога_) and that the term used in this context is legitimate, although it may not be used very often nowadays.

The expression _љубим своју жену_ can be perfectly understood to mean "I love my wife" rather than "I am (physically, at this moment) kissing my wife."  Of course, you can equally say _волим своју жену, _but љубим has stronger emotional, less physically desirous connotations.

Пољубити means to _give a kiss, _when you _physically_ kiss someone. You can also say I gave a kiss with the noun derived from the same verb _дао сам јој пољубац_.

A kiss, пољубац, is derived from _по_љубити, and not љубац from љубити.


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## phosphore

I am sorry, I cannot agree on this _voleti/ljubiti_ distinction; it could have been some half a century ago the way you are saying it, but now things have simply changes: it would not be that ambiguous as it would be funny if someone said _ljubim svoju ženu_ meaning that he loved her.


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## sokol

We've had that topic before - ljubiti vs. voljeti, where WannaBeMe already said that "ljubiti = love" is dated use in BCS.

Edit: Vasmer's entry for любить.


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## OBrasilo

Is it possible that "ljubiti" was borrowed by Proto-Slavic from Proto-Germanic *lubojana (to love), noun *lubo (love), cf. English to love/love, German lieben/Liebe, and Dutch liefde? Or did they both Proto-Slavic *ljubiti and Proto-German8c *lubojana simply come from the same Indo-European root?

Also in Slovenian, _ljubiti_ is also used to mean to adore, basically as a synonym of _oboževati_. And we have the word _ljubitelj_ which is mostly used for avid fans of something - eg. _ljubitelj glasbe_ - someone who adores music.


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## LilianaB

In Polish _to love_ does not have the _lub_ root: it is _kochac_ in modern Polish. There is a word with the root: _lub_, _lubic_, but it means _to like_: _to like somebody as a friend_, or _to like a thing_. _I like ice-cream_, for example. _Lubie lody_.


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## Ben Jamin

Vasya_Polak said:


> Split from here.
> 
> 
> Also which languages have root  lub or люб  in word love.
> Russian have and Ukrainin too.



If you do not wish to restrict your query to Slavic languages you will find that Germanic (English ‘love’, German “liebe”) has a closely related cognate.


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## ChildOfNature

In *Slovak*, there are several different words that can possibly mean _to love_:

_Ľúbiť_ - _to love_ a family member, boyfriend or girlfriend, homeland (poetically), pet / _to like_ a food or drink
_Milovať_ - _to love intensively_ - a boyfriend or girlfriend in a serious relationship, husband or wife, homeland, pet, thing, situation
_Mať rád_ - _to love _a friend / _to like _a person (for their inner qualities), pet, thing, situation, food or drink,
_Páčiť sa_ - _to like_ a thing or person or situation (appearance or features)
_Ľúbiť sa_ - dialect / slang - equivalent of _Páčiť sa_
_Zaľúbiť sa_ - _to fall in love_ _(innocently)_
_Zamilovať sa_ - _to fall in love (intensively)_


In *Czech*:
_Milovat_ - _to love _a family member, boyfriend or girlfriend, husband or wife, pet, homeland, thing, situation
_Mít rád_ - _to love _a friend / _to like_ a person (for their inner qualities), pet, thing, situation, food or drink
_Líbit se_ - _to like_ a thing or person or situation (appearance or features)
_Líbat _- _to kiss _
_Zamilovat se_ - _to fall in love_


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## Dhira Simha

OBrasilo said:


> Is it possible that "ljubiti" was borrowed by Proto-Slavic from Proto-Germanic *lubojana (to love), noun *lubo (love), cf. English to love/love, German lieben/Liebe, and Dutch liefde? Or did they both Proto-Slavic *ljubiti and Proto-German8c *lubojana simply come from the same Indo-European root?



Proto-Germanic  and Proto-Slavonic are mere hypotheses so " Proto-Germanic *lubojana (to love), noun *lubo (love)" are phantasms living  only in imagination of some scholars. Contrarily, _lubo_ in the sense "I like it" does exist today in Slavonic speech. This is what Russian and Ukrainian Cossacks cry out at their meetings expressing agreement.  Is we want to go diachronic (at least 2500 years back), we only need to look up in the Sanskrit dictionary:



*934**любить - любит*lyub - lyubit*lubh - lubhati**लुभ् - लुभति*ljubit' - ljubitto love, liketo desire greatly or eagerly, long for, be interested inA generally accepted common IE word  although Vasmer chose not to provide the obvious Sanskrit link for some  reason (VAS, 2, 544).  Similarly, in the MW dictionary the following  cognates of the SA lubh लुभ् are listed: Lat. lubet, libet, libido;  Goth. liufs; Germ. liob, lieb, lieben; Eng. lief, love but the Russian  lubit' is missing. The meaning of the RU любить ljubit’ is not centered  about ‘to love’ but also means ‘to like, to be interested in’ UA любити;  BG любя; SRB љубити; CR ljubit;  CZ líbit se; SK ľúbiť;  PL lubić ADEL;  EICH;  GILF, 141; ILE; CHO; GUS 6


Source: _Russian-Sanskrit Dictionary of Common and Cognate Words_ (Entries in L).>

As we can see from Sanskrit,  lubh - lubhati  did not  specifically mean   "love"  as sex but referred to a certain  emotional state (those  who experienced it will understand ).  These are some attested Skr. meanings:"to be perplexed or disturbed; to  desire greatly or eagerly, long for, be interested in; to confound,  bewilder, perplex, derange; to cause to desire or long for, excite lust,  allure, entice, attract; to efface; to have a vehement desire for". Cp.  also *lubhita* mfn. "perplexed, disturbed, fascinated".  As you could see from previous replies, in many Slavonic language, like  Polish, this verb still has the meaning "to like". In Russian it does  include sex but this was a later development.  For carnal love there  were different words. If you want to learn about them see
*Dhātupāṭha – the Path of Words (Part 1)*


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## LiseR

Romanian has the verb "a iubi" = to love. The root is Slavic


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## berndf

Dhira Simha said:


> As we can see from Sanskrit,  lubh - lubhati  did not  specifically mean   "love"  as sex but referred to a certain  emotional state (those  who experienced it will understand ).  These are some attested Skr. meanings:"to be perplexed or disturbed; to  desire greatly or eagerly, long for, be interested in; to confound,  bewilder, perplex, derange; to cause to desire or long for, excite lust,  allure, entice, attract; to efface; to have a vehement desire for". Cp.  also *lubhita* mfn. "perplexed, disturbed, fascinated".  As you could see from previous replies, in many Slavonic language, like  Polish, this verb still has the meaning "to like". In Russian it does  include sex but this was a later development.  For carnal love there  were different words. If you want to learn about them see
> *Dhātupāṭha – the Path of Words (Part 1)*


What is your point here.  Who has ever claimed that that _love_ "specifically meant"  _"love" as sex_?


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## Dhira Simha

> Romanian has the verb "a iubi" = to love. The root is Slavic


Correct. There are other Slavonic loans for "love" in Romanian: 


 
 _dragoste, drag, milă,  persoană iubit_ă.
However, even in Romanian the meaning of _iubi_ is broader than corporal love. Compare _iubitor de pace_ "peace-loving, peaceable, peaceful". Thank you for bringing this up!


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## Dhira Simha

> What is your point here.  Who has ever claimed that that _love_ "specifically meant"  _"love" as sex_?


Sorry, Berndf, much of the discussion on this tread is revolving around the  cardinal meaning of lub- (ljub-) which appears to be  a general abstract feeling in most languages quoted.  Skr. evidence only confirms that the meaning  "corporal love"  is a much later  secondary development in some languages like Russian. I thought this  was an important observation which would help to  understand the  primordial meaning of this word. This is, after all, the prime target of an etymologist. Otherwise, what are we trying to establish? That  this ancient root is present in all Slavonic languages, Sanskrit, Latin and, in a more  distorted form,  also in Germanic? This is a well known fact. Just look it up at the etymological dictionary  which lists all the cognates. What is the point of the discussion then?


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## berndf

Dhira Simha said:


> Sorry, Berndf, much of the discussion on this tread is revolving around the  cardinal meaning of lub- (ljub-) which appears to be  a general abstract feeling in most languages quoted.  Skr. evidence only confirms that the meaning  "corporal love"  is a much later  secondary development in some languages like Russian. I thought this  was an important observation which would help to  understand the  primordial meaning of this word. This is, after all, the prime target of an etymologist. Otherwise, what are we trying to establish? That  this ancient root is present in all Slavonic languages, Sanskrit, Latin and, in a more  distorted form,  also in Germanic? This is a well known fact. Just look it up at the etymological dictionary  which lists all the cognates.


Again, you are trying to convince us that _corporal love_ is not the primordial of the _love_ but a secondary one. Yes, ok, accepted. But who has ever said anything to the contrary here?


Dhira Simha said:


> What is the point of the discussion then?


OBrasilo's question you answered to was whether the Slavic and Germanic words are
- cognate, whether one is a 
- borrowing from the other or whether 
- the similarity is accidental.


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## Dhira Simha

berndf said:


> Again, you are trying to convince us that _corporal love_ is not the primordial of the _love_ but a secondary one. Yes, ok, accepted. But who has ever said anything to the contrary here?
> OBrasilo's question you answered to was whether the Slavic and Germanic words are
> - cognate, whether one is a
> - borrowing from the other or whether
> - the similarity is accidental.



1) Slavonic an Germanic words are  without any doubt cognate. All  attested  Germanic forms can be  explained by simple rules of phonetic correspondence;  2) Given the wide spread of the root_ l(j)ub(h)_- in the major branches of IE, most probably it is  inherited  in every branch (we may discuss particular cases like Romanian), however  in the closely related (both linguistically and geographically) old  Indo-Aryan and Slavonic languages they preserve  most  truthfully the hypothetical IE root _*leub(h)_ both by their phonetic forms and and  the cardinal meanings; 3) Taking into consideration  1) and 2), any chance that "the similarity is accidental" is virtually zero.


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