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Animals & plants

duck

Source:*ǫtъkaProto-Slavicprobable

Only Russian kept the old *ǫtъka; the others replaced it with words imitating how people call ducks. Those call-word origins are the usual explanation, not a certainty.

English

duck

Polish

kaczka
ˈkatʂka
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In all five languages

BCS script
  • Russian
    у́ткаutka
    ˈutkəinherited
  • Ukrainian
    ка́чкаkačka
    ˈkatʃkadifferent word · expressive, from a call-word kač- for ducks
  • Polish
    kaczka
    ˈkatʂkadifferent word · expressive, from a call-word kač- for ducks
  • Czech
    kachna
    ˈkaxnadifferent word · expressive, from a similar call-word kach-
  • Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian
    patkaпатка
    ˈpatkadifferent word · expressive, from a call-word pat- for ducks
  • English
    duck

Sound laws at work