Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/paxati

Unclear. Per Vasmer, probably onomatopoeic. Alternatively, related to Old Norse fǫnn (“snowdrift”) (< *fazn-), Old High German fesa (“chaff”) and perhaps Tocharian B pīsäl (“chaff”) via a tentative Proto-Indo-European root *pes- (“~ to blow”).

*paxati

1. to sweep

• *paxnǫti (“to smell of”)

• East Slavic:
  • Russian: паха́ть (paxátʹ, “to sweep, to blow”) (Arkhangelsk)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: пахати (paxati)

    Glagolitic script: ⱂⰰⱈⰰⱅⰻ (paxati)

  • Bulgarian: па́хам (páham, “to sweep, to clean”) (dialectal)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: па̏хати (“to dust, to blow off”), па́хати (“to dust, to blow off; to stink”)

    Latin script: pȁxati (“to dust, to blow off”), páxati (“to dust, to blow off; to stink”)

  • Slovene: páhati (“to dust, to brush off”) (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: pachać (“to emit smoke, to smoke”)
    • Lower Sorbian: pachaś (“to brush away”)

• Derksen, Rick (2008), “*paxati I”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden; Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 389
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “паха́ть”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Adams, Douglas Q. (2013), “pīsäl”, in A Dictionary of Tocharian B: Revised and Greatly Enlarged (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 10), Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 417

Unclear. Derksen suggests a vaguely possible relationship with *pasti (“to pasture”), but notes that the accentual properties of the root don't match. Chernykh suggests the same relationship. Vasmer conjectures a relationship with Latin pāla (“shovel, spade”), possibly < *pastlā, pastinum (“hoe for digging and loosening a vineyard”), and/or with Ossetian фадын (fadyn, “to split”), Old Armenian հատանեմ (hatanem, “to cut off, to cut into pieces”), հատու (hatu, “piercing, sharp”). Vasmer also notes that a relationship with *paxati (“to sweep”) is conceivable by taking into account the nature of the Russian plow, whose blade sweeps the soil aside.

*pāxàti

1. to plow? to perform? to herd cattle? to dig?

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: пахати (paxati) (12th century)
    • Russian: паха́ть (paxátʹ, “to plow, to till”)
    • Ukrainian: паха́ти (paxáty) (archaic)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: па́хам (páham, “to plow and sow”) (dialectal)
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: páchat (“to do, to make, (dialectal) to herd cattle”)
  • Old Polish: pachać (“to dig, to cause harm”)
  • Slovak: páchať (“to accomplish, to perform”)

• Chernykh, P. Ja. (1999), “паха́ть”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), 3rd edition, volume 2 (панцирь – ящур), Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 14
• Derksen, Rick (2008), “*pāxàti II”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden; Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 389
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “паха́ть”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress