Baltic Layer in the Hydronymy of the Dnieper River Region

Acta Linguistica Lithuanica 2026, vol. 94, pp. 1–19 Contents link / Turinio nuoroda ISSN 2669-218X (online / elektroninis) Copyright © 2026 Alexander I. Iliadi. Published by the Institute of the Lithuanian Language. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. // Išleido Lietuvių kalbos institutas. Šis straipsnis yra atviros prieigos, platinamas pagal „Creative Commons“ priskyrimo licencijos sąlygas, leidžiančias neribotai naudoti, platinti ir atkurti turinį bet kokioje laikmenoje, nurodant autorių ir šaltinį. Received: / Gauta: 2026-05-05. Accepted: / Priimta: 2026-05-14. 1 BALTIC LAYER IN THE HYDRONYMY OF THE DNIEPER RIVER REGION Baltų kalbų sluoksnis Dniepro upės regiono hidronimijoje ALEXANDER I. ILIADI The State Institution “South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushinsky” E-mail: [email protected] ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5078-8316 Fields of research: etymology, comparative-historical linguistics, general and typological linguistics. https://doi.org/10.35321/all94-05 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ANNOTATION The research aims to identify the Baltic language heritage in the hydronymy of the Dnieper region. In particular, it dwells on the reconstruction of the Baltic lexical stratum, the existence of which is not at odds with the historical and archaeological data for the areas under analysis. The research has resulted in the reconstruction of 50 lexemes that are believed to be part of the vocabulary of the Old Balts. Such a conclusion is substantiated by the etymology of the reviewed water names, explained by the vocabulary of the East and West Baltic languages. Lexical reconstruction is possible due to compliance with some conditions of the etymological procedure: 1) highlighting the stages of Baltic hydronymy Slavization with the description of the phonetic and morphological processes, which accompanied the adaptation; 2) separating Slavonic derivational extension as a mean of adaptation of Baltic words in a foreign language environment; 3) determination of the relationship between the reconstructed “Dnieper” Baltisms and the archaic vocabulary of the East and West Baltic languages. Compliance with these conditions resulted in (a) the singling out of several types of parallels linking Old Baltic hydronyms in the Dnieper area with the toponymy of the different Baltic Languages; (b) the assumption of possible Proto-Lithuanian affiliation of the most numerous group of Baltic lexical relics. KEYWORDS: etymology, reconstruction, prototype, reflex, the Baltic languages, hydronym, area. ANOTACIJA Tyrimo tikslas – išskirti baltų kalbų paveldą Dniepro regiono hidronimijoje. Vykdant tyrimą ypatingas dėmesys skiriamas baltų leksikos sluoksnio rekonstrukcijai, kurio egzistavimas atitinka analizuojamų vietovių istorijos ir archeologijos duomenis. Tyrimo rezultatas – 50 rekonstruotų leksemų, kurios, kaip yra manoma, susijusios su senuoju baltų žodynu. Šią išvadą pagrindžia apžvelgtų vandenvardžių etimologija, paaiškinta remiantis rytų ir vakarų baltų kalbų žodynu. Leksikos rekonstrukcija įmanoma laikantis kai kurių etimologinės procedūros sąlygų: 1) išryškinant baltų hidronimijos slavinimo etapus, aprašant fonetinius ir morfologinius procesus, lydėjusius adaptaciją; 2) išskiriant slavų kalbos išvestinių formų paplitimą kaip baltų žodžių prisitaikymo svetimos kalbos aplinkoje būdą; 3) nustatant rekonstruotų Dniepro regiono baltizmų ir archajiško rytų ir vakarų baltų kalbų žodyno sąryšį. Šių sąlygų laikymasis lėmė (a) kelių tipų paralelių, siejančių senuosius baltų hidronimus Dniepro srityje su skirtingų baltų kalbų toponimija, išskyrimą; (b) prielaidą, kad gausiausia baltų leksikos reliktų grupė gali būti priskirta prolietuvių tarmių paveldui. ESMINIAI ŽODŽIAI: etimologija, rekonstrukcija, prototipas, refleksas, baltų kalbos, hidronimas, sritis. 2 1. INTRODUCTION: THE BALTIC HERITAGE IN THE HYDRONYMY OF THE DNIEPER REGION The Balts who dwelled on the territory of the Dnieper basin in the second half of the first millennium BC (Vitkūnas, Zabiela 2017: 34–36, with the literature), left here not only the material traces in the form of many archaeological objects, but also a language substrate in the local geographical nomenclature. The most significant experience in studying this problem is presented by the academicians Vladimir N. Toporov and Oleg N. Trubačev’s investigations (Toporov, Trubačev 1962) as well as in the works by Anatolij P. Nepokupnyj (1981) and Irina M. Železniak (1987). However, since their publication, new sources have become available to complete the existing list of Baltic lexemes in the toponymy of the Dnieper River region. Unfortunately, this material has not yet been properly assessed as evidence of the preliterate history of the Baltic languages thus far. The reason is that for a long time the complex problem of Slavonic-Baltic language contacts in the Dnieper basin and reconstruction of the vocabulary of the old Baltic dialects on this territory by data of the toponymy has remained on the periphery of the Indo-European comparative-historical linguistics, whence comes the lag in its development (unlike, for example, the active search for the old Baltic hydronymy in the Russian Northwest). It is significant that the problem of Baltic-Slavonic language interaction in the Dnieper, Don, Oka, Vistula basins etc. is totally passed over in silence in one of the recent major work on the history of the East Baltic languages by data of their contacts (Jakob 2024), although a similar approach to studying Prussian-German language relations and Old Prussian toponymy as a source of the reconstruction of the lexemes, lost in the appellative vocabulary, has long been practiced in the Baltic linguistic studies (Toporov 1975; 1979; 1980; 1984; 1990; Blažienė 2023). Taking this into account, any research focused on filling the gaps in studying the Baltic stratum in the Dnieper River region hydronymy seems to be relevant. 2. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES The purpose of the proposed study is to single out the Baltic heritage in the hydronymy of some tributaries of the Dnieper, namely – the Desna, Pripyat, Psel, Teterev rivers, the flow of which partly outlines the boundaries of Baltic archaeological culture areas. The preconditions for this are: 1) the hydronyms of the Upper and partly Middle Dnieper region, the genesis of which has already been identified in the works of our predecessors; 2) a large group the geographical names, which early were not introduced into scientific use (for example, they are absent in the special research by I. M. Železniak (1987); they have no Slavonic etymology, however show a strong similarity to the appellative vocabulary and toponymy of the Baltic languages. The stated purpose is achieved by solving several tasks: – The etymological analysis of the Dnieper River area hydronyms, which, on a number of formal features, tentatively can be genetically correlated with Baltic vocabulary; – The reconstruction of the Old Baltic lexemes, saved in the Slavonic hydronymy; – The determination of the phonetic and morphological regularities that accompanied the Slavization of Baltic hydronymy at different times; – The determination of the place of the reconstructed lexemes in the archaic dialectal vocabulary of the Baltic languages. We propose a number of etymologies that introduce new data on the language traces left by the Old Balts into the scientific use of Baltic historical linguistics, in the toponymy of the Dnieper area. It is about the reconstruction of the lexical relics of the language of the Baltic population, who lived on the coast of the Desna, Pripyat, Psel and Teterev rivers and their tributaries (see the necessary literature about Baltic archaeological traces in the basins of these rivers in: Toporov, Trubačev 1962; Železniak 1987: 93, 107–109). Accordingly, the object of the study is a number of water names, localised in the basins of the mentioned rivers. 3 The Baltic genesis is identified for: a) The Dnieper hydronyms, which were not given attention in the comparativehistorical Slavonic and Baltic linguistics; b) The lexemes, which were previously explained based on the data of other languages. 3. MATERIAL AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Today, we have a fairly extensive list of Baltic lexemes in the toponymy of the Dnieper region; however, in our view, it can be significantly expanded through the new data. The research basis is formed by toponymes, presumably of Baltic genesis, taken from historical documents (geographical descriptions), the materials of dialectological and onomastic expeditions (OA), and the sources of the onomastic vocabulary of the Slavonic and Baltic languages. These toponyms, in their phonomorphological characteristics, are close to, or etymologically identical with, Baltic onomastic and appellative vocabulary. In other words, they are explained solely on the basis of the Baltic language material, which is characterised by a particular form of roots and affixes. Some methodological prerequisites for etymology and reconstruction of Baltic prototypes. According to V. N. Toporov and O. N. Trubačev, “<…> there are a number of indicators, which [genetically] may be both Baltic as well as Slavonic to the same extent. In this case, only the specific analysis, covering both the root part as well as the very principle of the name, helps identify the old source of this hydronym” (Toporov, Trubačev 1962: 159). This conclusion is relevant for the proposed study. In this context, hydronyms with common “Balto-Slavonic” roots and formants are not considered in the study, given the complexity of identifying their Baltic affiliation. Conversely, we accept for consideration the composites with a set of components (stems) which are typical for Baltic hydronymy, and also suffixal derivatives from the roots, attested in the Baltic, but not found in the Slavonic languages. The “typicality” and “attestation” are confirmed by data from the comparison with Baltic vocabulary. 3.1. Baltic etymology is defined for: – The hydronyms-composites and the suffixal hydronyms, which have the fulllexeme equivalents at least in one of the Baltic languages; – The hydronyms-composites, which do not have the full-lexeme counterparts in Baltic vocabulary, but such analogues are found separately for each part of the reconstructed hydronymic composite; – The suffixal hydronyms, which do not have the lexical identities in Baltic vocabulary; however, here are their equivalents with variant derivational morphology. So, the Baltic origin of the names is likely, the etymological composition of which is elucidated exclusively by appealing to Baltic-language material. Each case of the genetic correspondence between the reconstructed Baltic lexeme and the historically attested toponyms and appellative lexemes of the Baltic languages is verified by techniques of comparative-historical linguistics. The methods used in the proposed study are as follows: etymological and comparative-historical (in particular, the following techniques are relevant for establishing the genetic identity of the compared forms, determining the relative chronology of language phenomena, and reconstructing prototypes). 3.2. The chronological aspects of the reconstruction of Baltic hydronymy in the Dnieper area. The acquaintance of the Slavs with Baltic hydronymy was not a onetime event, whence is the variation in the reflection of Baltic sounds and group phonemes during the Slavization of the water names. 4 3.2.1. The cases of early Slavization are presented by the forms with the following development. 3.2.1.1. Vocalism Balt. *a > Slav. *o: *Rasapē > Росопа; Balt. *ā > Slav. *a: *Mānas > Ман; Balt. *e > Slav. *e: *Up[a]leiā > Воплея; Balt. *u > Slav. *ъ (> [ø]): *Gur-ap- > *Гърапъ > Грап; *Irupē > *Иръпа > Ирпа. A similar situation is observed in the suffixes, cf. derivatives with *-uā. Balt. anlaut *uwas reflected as *vъin the Old Slavonic language: the vowel *ъcould not stand at the beginning of the word, therefore v-prothesis appeared before *ъ, cf. *Up[a]leiā > *Vъpleja > Воплея; Balt. *ū > Slav. *y: *Krūmas > Крымъ; *Mūkā > Мыка; Balt. *i > Slav. *ь (> [е], [ø] depending on the position): *Girdis > *Жьрдь > Жердь; *Pikils- > *Пьчьлсъ > *Пчелсъ etc. The situation is similar in the suffixes, where *ь < *i lost in a weak position, cf. examples with -ir-, -in-. The initial Balt. *iin Slavonic speech got j-prothesis because of the impossibility of the initial *ь- < *ihere, cf. *Irupē > *Jьrъpa > Ирпа; Balt. *ī > Slav. *i: *Aldažīg- > Ладожига; *īria-aduā > Виревíдва; Balt. *a > Slav. *u: *Aušu ā > Ушвá; Balt. *ei > Slav. *i: *Eisra ā > Истровка; *Leiž-ertas > Лизер(ъ)т; *eišada - > Вúсодова; Balt. *ei > * > Slav. *ě: *Sētinas or *Sētinā > Сѣтное. It is about Slavization of phonetically developed forms, where Proto-Balt. diphthong *ei has already turned into narrow * . In this way this diphthong developed in East Baltic speech, where * then was converted to the diphthong ie, cf. a similar later development ė > ie in Samogitian dialect (Zinkevičius 1980: 77). The same feature is attested in Baltic borrowings in Russian dialects (Anikin 2005); Balt. *an > Slav. *ǫ (> [u]): *Palangā > *Palǫga > Палужа; Balt. *in > Slav. *ę (> [’a]): *Išminč- > Смячъ-рѣчка (= *Смѧчь). 3.2.1.2. Consonantism and clusters Balt. *k, *g before *e, *ē, *i > Slav. *č, *ž: *Ne ēker- > Невечера; *Kibir- > Чибра; *Pikils- > *Пьчьлсъ; * ers-akis > Вересочь; *Degē > Дежа; *Gēr ē > Жерева; *Girdis > Жердь; Balt. *š > Slav. *š: *Šara ā or *Šerā ā > Шáрова; Balt. *ž > Slav. *z: *Leižertas > Лизерт; Balt. * > Slav. *v: * ar-apē > Воропа; Balt. *š > Slav. *sv: *Šeta- > Свѣто-; Balt. *ia > Slav. *e: *īria-adu ā > Виревíдва. 3.2.1.3. Groupophonemes Balt. TarT > Slav. ToroT: *Dargalis > Дороголь; *Nemaldu ā > Немолодва; Balt. TerT > Slav. TereT: * ers-akis > Вересóч; *Gēr ē > Жерева; Balt. *ald- > Slav. *lad-: *Aldažīg- > Ладожига; *Aldin- > Ладинка. 3.2.2. Examples of late Slavization. Some Dnieper hydronyms have forms that are phonetically close to their Old Baltic prototype (with *a, *u, *i, *art, TerT). These water names were Slavicized at a later epoch, when the corresponding phonetic processes (see above) had been completed in Slavonic languages. Cf.: Balt. *a > Slav. a: *Šeta-balinor *Šeta-alinē > Свѣтовалное; Balt. *u > Slav. u: *Dulupē > Дулюпа. Similarly is in the suffixes -ut-/-uč-, -uti-, cf. *Rad-utiā or *Rad-utis > Радýта etc.; Balt. *i > Slav. i: *Žižmā > Сизма (in the early Slavization it would be expected *Сьзма > *Сезма with vocalization of ь > е); Balt. *art- > Slav. art-: *Arta-paltis > Артополот; 5 Balt. TerT > Slav. TerT: *erden- > Вéрдин; Balt. TarT > Slav. TarT: *Žardenā > Жарденя (in the early adopting it would be expected *Жереденя or else *Зороденя with taken into account the complete etymological identity of East Balt. *žardas : Slav. *zòrdъ, cf.: Derksen 2015: 513); Balt. *ž, *š > Slav. z, s: *Leižertas > Лизерт; *Išminč- > Смячъ-рѣчка; *Ušnā > Юсенка. This also includes the forms with the shift of “hissing consonant → whistling consonant” and the further dissimilation on voicing/voicelessness (*Žižmā > Сизма), and the forms with the lack of results of the 1st palatalisation of velar consonants, cf. *Kem-ūlis > Кемúль. In this last example, the rendering of *ū as Slav. *y [ы] instead of the expected у [u] (like *Кемуль) in case of late Slavization is caused by the influence of the structural analogy of Slavonic toponymy with the outcome -ыль widely represented in the Dnieper River basin, cf. Войтыль (SHU 1979: 549), Горбыль, Бадиль (Chernigov region), Кордиль, Бургиль (Sumy region) etc. (OA). The phonetic adaptation of Baltic toponymy in Slavonic speech was accompanied by a few more processes. Aphaeresis (*a-, *i-), cf.: *Alarnā > Ларна; *Išminč- > Смячъ-рѣчка. Prothesis: (j-) *Ēnā ā > Єнава; *Ušnā > *Юсьна. Epenthesis: *Eisra ā > Истровка. The sound [t] appeared in the Slavicized form of the hydronym as the positional insert, cf.: *osrovъ > *ostrovъ, срам > диал. страм, Сретение > диал. Стретение. Next, we will point out the example with l-epentheticum in *Tarpiiā > Торóпля. 3.3. The morphological aspects of the reconstruction of Baltic hydronymy in the Dnieper area. The reconstruction of any Baltic lexeme, saved in the hydronymy, is made by taking into account the factor of its derivational and grammatical adaptation in the Slavonic language. Consequently, in some cases, we can restore the primordial form of the Baltic name under the following conditions: а) when separating Slavonic derivational “layering” from the hydronym, for example, of suffix -k- (Истров-ка, Ладин-ка, Рон-ка, Юсен-ка), -ец- (Могуп-ецъ); b) when taking into account the results of rethinking the morphology of Baltic lexeme in the spirit of Slavonic derivational morphemics, cf. Balt. suff. subst. -in-, -n- > Slav. suff. adj. -ьn-; Balt. -uā > Slav. -ъva, -ьva (after sizzling consonant); -aā, -ā ā > -ova, -ava, -ūlis > -ylь (-ыль), -mā > -(ь)ma. It is difficult to differentiate between the Dnieper hydronyms with the formants -aā and -ā ā, because in Slavonic use they were included both in the category of geographical names with -ava as well as -ova due to the process of analogy. From here, and the conditional character of the reconstruction of the suffixal part of some substrate Baltic lexemes. In some cases, Slavization of Baltic hydronyms was accompanied by the perception of its singular form as plural, cf. sing. *[A]uslā > plur. Вýсла, -сел. Here, it is worth recalling considerations by V. N. Toporov and O. N. Trubačev from the above-quoted investigation: “Generally, when searching for the traces of Baltic hydronyms, it must be taken into account that they may be disguised out of all recognition in Slavonic form. This secondary form in its turn is included in a number of externally close Slavonic names, creating a whole chain of the transitional hybrid forms, concerning which it is difficult to say where Baltic ends and Slavonic form begins” (Toporov, Trubačev 1962: 159). This thesis is well illustrated by the material set out below, cf., for example, the transformation of Balt. * el-i-alas Вуливáло, Веливела, Веливала, Вуливело, Вуливала, Валивала; * ida-lakis as Выдолочь, Видоличь, Видолочь, Witolicz. The morphological adaptation of Baltic vocabulary in Slavonic use was made by changing Baltic grammatical indicators with their genetic analogues. The factors determining this process are: 6 1) Intuitive understanding of native speakers of the affinity of both contacting languages, namely: approximately the same principle of opposition of masculine and feminine gender (Balt. -as masc. VS -ā fem. = Slav. -ъ masc. VS -a fem.), genetic relation between the systems of formants in both languages; 2) The condition for Balto-Slavonic bilingualism in a certain era (such is assumed for the Upper Dnieper territory; Toporov, Trubačev 1962: 161, 162). The examples of the phonetic and morphological substitutions in the Baltic hydronyms are given below: ā-stems (cf. Proto-Lith. N. sg. *- ; Zinkevičius 1980: 189): *Eisr-aā > Истровка; Šar-aā or *Šer-ā ā > Шáрова; *Ušnā > Юсенка; ā-stems (Balt. iā-stems, soft type of ā-stems; Endzelīns 1971: 141): *Tarpiiā – Торóпля. This also includes the type with *-ē (Balt. (i)ē-stems; ibid.: 146), cf. Lith. stems with -ė): *Ras-apē > Росопа; *ar-apē > Воропа with West Balt. *apiā, cf. Old Pruss. ape; *Dul-upē > Дулюпа; *Ir-upē > Ирпа (*Иръпа) with East Balt. *upē; *Degē > Дежа. The indicator -ē in view of the fact that it was impossible in the nominative of Slavonic Feminina was replaced by -a. There are more complex cases, in which Slav. flexion -a could replace Balt. *-iā as well as -is, cf.: Велькуча = *ilkutiā (then -чis natural from tj) or * ilkutis (with a late levelling by analogy of the outcome of toponyms with -ча, cf. Вербча, Славча); Радýта = *Rad-utiā or *Rad-utis. The assumption of both forms is due to the presence of several variants of this formant in the Baltic languages. ( )ŏ-stems (Balt. N. sg. *-a-s): *Krūmas > Крымъ; *Leiž-ertas (~ Lith. e tas) > Лизерт; *Ragas > Рогъ; *Mānas > Ман; ĭ-stems (Balt. i-stems): *Arta-paltis (~ Lith. Páltis) > Артополоть; *Kem-ūlis > Кемúль; * ers-akis > Вересочь; * ida-lakis > Вúдолоч. The grammatical indicator of the derivatives with suff. -(i)nis impossible to determine due to comprehension of these names as the adjectives, whose grammatical gender in the Slavonic languages varied depending on agreement with one or the other topographical term. Cf. Сѣтное (the lake) behind which are *Sēt-inas or *Sēt-inā. 4. BALTIC LEXICAL RELICS IN THE HYDRONYMY OF THE DNIEPER RIVER REGION 4.1. The Desna Basin *Al-arnā Ларна: «С. Лотоки при рч. Ларнѣ (притокъ Палужи)», the beginning of the 18th century (Lazarevskij 1888: 366). The hydronym keeps Balt. *Al-arnā “Flowing arna”, distorted in Slavonic verbal use (aphaeresis). Regarding the composition of the word cf.: Lith. Alỹs – the lake, Al-ùpė, Al-upė, A-trakas, Latv. Ala – the rivers ~ Lith. alėti ‘to flow’, ‘to trickle’, ‘to drip’ (Vanagas 1981: 38) & Latv. Ārni, Ārnis, Lith. (derivative) Arnėnų km., Old Pruss. Arnow, 1322 < {*arn-}, Thrac. Ἄρνη, Καλ-αρνα – toponyms (Toporov 1975: 104). The component *arn-, apparently, belongs to the type of “Old Indo-European” water names, being a PIE derivative with suff. -nfrom the root *er-/*or- ‘set in motion, excite’ (see: Krahe 1964: 45–46: Arn-). The semantics of *arnis reconstructed as ‘streaming water’ (Woudhuizen 2020: 49, with reference to Jürgen Udolph). *Alda-žīg- (?) Ладожига, 1786 – the river in Chernigov vicegerency (Šafonskij 1851: 215) = *Alda-žīg- (?), cf. Lith. Ald kis, A dos ~ Thrac. Alda-, Dacian alda ‘humid place, swamp’) & Žỹgis (Vanagas 1981: 38, 402). *Ald-inЛадинка: «С. Ладинка, при р. Ладинкѣ», 1765 (Chernigov regiment; Lazarevskij 1866: 38) = *Ald-in- ~ Latv. Àldiņi – hydronym ~ Lith. Aldonà (Toporov 1979: 24: *eld-). 7 *Arta-paltis Артополóт – name of several rivers: the left trib. of the Mnoga, the right trib. of the Lysogor, the left trib. of the Sula, the left trib. of the Dnieper (Артополоть, 1785, 1852; SHU 1979: 24, Артополотъ, 1786; Šafonskij 1851: 525, 580–581); the left trib. of the Sula and the Dnieper (Артополотъ, XVI, Артаполотъ, 1769 etc. (SHU 1979: 24). Modern science has two etymologies of the hydronym. Now they both need revision, primarily in phonetics. 1. The Iranian version, to which the authors of the studies on the Dnieper hydronymy appellate uncritically. It is about here the primordial *Артапород = Iran. *Arta-pord ~ Alan. αρδ ‘God’ and Osset. ford ‘big river’ (Stryžak 1963: 83–84). However, this etymology does not explain the reasons for saving the initial *art-, which was subjected to metathesis *rot-/*rat- (cf. *orkyta > рокита, ракита) in Slavonic speech. Moreover, the motivation behind the name “The God’s River” is doubtful. 2. The Slavonic etymology implies reading the hydronym as *Vъrto-poltъ > *Вартополот > Артополот. Proto-Slav. *polt-, well presented in Slavonic toponymy, is genetically oriented to PIE *pel- ‘wide, broad’ (Kazlova 2000: 167–169, 170). The version is argued by appealing to probable aphaeresis of в-. However, firstly, not only the sound вis dropped in the dialects, but also кand х-, therefore, to the same extent, the primordial prototypes *Kъrto-poltъ and *Xъrto-poltъ are both likely. Secondly, вdrops only before the next labial vowel, but not before а. Thirdly, the East Slavonic reflex of Proto-Slav. *vьrt- (*vьrtěti) always has e but not a like in *варт- (there is only Beloruss. вярцець with ’а < е). An attempt to substantiate the variant *Vъrtoby appealing to Pol. wart ‘water body’ does not convince, because the Polish word is the reflex of Proto-Slav. *vьrtъ with the normal development *ьr > ar before the hard t. We would suggest treating Артополот as an element of Baltic stratum in the Dnieper toponymy, i. e., as Balt. *Arta-paltis “Close/nigh stream”. Cf. Lith. artùs ‘close, nigh’, art ‘near, beside, next to’ & Latv. palts, palte ‘puddle’, ‘rain flow’, and also reconstructed Lith. *paltis, and hydronym Páltis – name of the river and lake (Smoczyński 2019: 1178–1179). See also (Derksen 2015: 61–62). Preservation of *artin Slavonic use without the expected here metathesis of Balt. *art- > Slav. *ort- > *rotor *ratmay be explained by the later Slavization of Baltic hydronym, which took place in the period when this phonetic process had been completed in the Slavonic languages. Pleophony in the second component arose not phonetically because the hydronym in view of *artpreservation was Slavized later, but due to the analogy of Slavonic toponyms with the stem Полот-. Previously, the Baltic etymology was set out in general terms in Alexander I. Iliadi (2025: 3). *Auš-uā Ушвá, -ú (Ушва, XIX) – the river, a tributary of the Sejm, the left trib. of the Desna, the left trib. of the Dnieper (SHU 1979: 582) < *Ушьва = *Auš-uā – the derivative with the formant -uā from *[a]ušē (vide infra). *Darg-alis Дороголь – the lake: «висше на усте чрезъ Десну реку <…> да по озеро Дороголь» (GS 1901: 256) = Balt. *Darg-alis, cf. with variant suffixation *Darg-el- > Lith. Dárgelė – hydronym ~ dargùs ‘inclement’, ‘disgusting, bad’ (Vanagas 1981: 80), dargà ‘rainy weather’, dial. ‘retting’ (Derksen 2015: 115–116). Toponymisation of the appellatives with suff. -el-, -al- (Lith. -elis (-ė), -alis); one of the meanings of both suffixes in the Baltic languages is the meaning ‘carrier of property, attribute’ (Ambrazas 2000: 176–177). The river names with -alė, -alis constitute one of the most numerous categories in Lithuanian hydronymy, see: (Vanagas 1981: 80). 8 *Dul-upē Дулюпа – the river: «Д. Ильбовь, на р. Дулюпѣ» (Lazarevskij 1866: 422, 428) = *Dul-upē. Cf. Lith. Dùlpis < *Dul-upis, Dul-upỹs ~ Lith. dùlas, Latv. duls ‘grey, light grey, yellowish’ (Vanagas 1981: 96), and also d liava (ibid.: 95). The second part contains East Balt. (Lith., Latv.) *upē < *up-iiā ‘river’, ‘flow, stream’ ← ‘river mouth’ (Smoczyński 2019: 1982). *Eisr-aā Истровка: «Х. Истровка, на р. Истровкѣ» (Lazarevskij 1866: 420), Istravka, Íстрівка – the river, left trib. of the Snov, right trib. of the Desna, left trib. of the Dnieper (SHU 1979: 224) = Proto-Lith. *Eisr-aā, cf. Lith. Éisrava ~ Éisra (Vanagas 1970: 102: Éisr-ava; Vanagas1981: 132). The formant -aā (< -o-ā; Zinkevičius 1987: 14; Ambrazas 2000: 50) is singled out in many Baltic hydronyms, part of which is the ancient derivatives (Vanagas 1970: 101). *Girdis, *Gird-e- (?) «до Жердеви къ Днепру <…>» – the river in the Desna basin (Kiev county in Kiev governorate), variant Жердь, -и (SNMKG 2005: 45, 241), «до реки Жерди», Żerdź (SHU 1979: 195), Жéрдя (Żerdź, Жердь) – the river, right trib. of the Zhirak, right trib. of the Goryn, right trib. of the Pripyat, right trib. of the Dnieper, «с. Грибовая при впадении рч. Жерди въ р. Горынь», cf. Жердя – village in Chemerovetsky district of Khmelnytskyi region (SHU 1979: 195) < *Жьрдь. It is possible to preserve Balt. lexeme *girdis, *gird-e-, cf. Lith. Gi dė – meadow ~ g rdyti ‘to water’, girdupė ‘the river, from which you can drink’ (Vanagas 1981: 116), Girdỹs – local name, Old Pruss. Girdewithigen (*gird-ev-it-) (Toporov 1979: 243). The variant reconstruction of the Balt. prototype is due to a lack of clarity of the hydronymic outcome: whether -евreflects the etymological Balt. -eor is it a Slavonic grammatical transformation of Balt. *girdis by the type of ū-stems (stem of the oblique cases is -ъv- > -ов-, dial. -ев-)? *Ir-upē Ирпа: «С. Сачковичи при р. Ирпѣ» (Lazarevskij 1866: 692), Ірпá – the river, the right trib. of the Snov, the right trib. of the Desna, the left trib. of the Dnieper (SHU 1979: 223). It is possible the Slavization of Balt. *Ir-upē > *Иръпа > Ирпа (like Ръжавєць > Ukr. Иржавецъ, cf. «над рѣчкою Иржавцемъ», the beginning of the XVIII; Miakotin 1896: 36). Cf. in Aleksandras Vanagas (1981: 131): Lith. Ir-upė is probably related to Lith. rti ‘to fall, drop’, ‘to fall apart, desintegrate’, ‘to spoil’, ‘disappear, go missing’, ‘mush up, soak’. Cf. also derivative Lith. irtis ‘abyss, bottomless abyss’, ‘maelstrom’ (Smoczyński 2019: 566). *Iš-minčСмячъ-рѣчка, 1714 – the river, the right trib. of the Snov, the right trib. of the Desna (DDH 1993: 229), Смячь, Смяч (KRU 1957: 94, 99, 183) = *iš-minč-, cf. Lith. Mnčia – the river name with an etymologically ambiguous stem (mink-, ment-?), see, for example, in A. Vanagas (1981: 216–217). *Kib-irЧибра (Чибра, 1729–1730) – the river (village Khripovka of Gorodnyansky district in Chernigov region; SHU 1979: 608). This hydronym reproduces Balt. *Kib-ir- ~ Lith. k biras ‘a small dry branch’ (of this appellative see: Smoczyński 2019: 706). In terms of motivation cf. Ветка, Бабина Вєтка – the left tr. of the Dnieper (SHU 1979: 26) ~ ветка ‘branch’ as ‘place, where the river is divided in arms’. *Lat-aā Лотáва – the river (village Shabalinov of Koropsky district in Chernigov region; Лотава, 1765–1769) (SHU 1979: 327; in Toporov 1990: 125): “needs further research”) = *Lat-aā, cf. Lith. Latavà ~ lat- *‘to flow’ (Vanagas 1981: 182; Toporov 1990: 124, 125). The reason for the preservation of short suffixal *a in Slavonic use is the inclusion of this 9 hydronym in the structural type of geographical names with -ava, cf. *Dǫbrava, *Lǫkava, *Morava etc. *Leiž-ertas Лізерт, 1977 – the lake (village Veliky Shchimel of Shchorsky district in Chernigov region; OA), more accurately is Лизерт = Balt. *Leiž-ertas. In terms of composition cf.: Lith. Liež s – the lake ~ liẽžti ‘wash off (about the river, water)’; Lith. Etėja – the river ~ Latv. ērte ‘wide place on the lake, where are no islands nereby’, Lith. e tas ‘wide’, ‘broad, extensive’ (Vanagas 1981: 47, 190). About the antiquity of ertsee: (Fraenkel 1962: 15; Karulis 1992: 271; LIV 2001 [1998]: 404; Smoczyński 2019: 395). The lack of pleophony in the second part is puzzling (should be *Лизерет). It is not excluded early convergence with Slavonic geographical vocabulary and toponymy with *rъt-, cf. *rъtъ, *na-rъtъ ‘top’, ‘top of the mountain’ (ESSJ XXIII 21–22). That is Лизерт < *Лизерътъ? *Mag-upē *Могуп (as a part of demin. Могупецъ, 1786 – the lake, connected to the river Desna in Chernigov vicegerency; Šafonskij 1851: 216) = *Mag-upē, cf. Latv. Maģ-upe – hydronym ~ Latv. maģs ‘small, little’ (Vanagas 1981: 201). *Mānas Ман (Man) – the river, the right trib. of the Moshnia, the right trib. of the Dnieper (SHU 1979: 351) = *Mānas, cf. Lith. Món-a-balė, Latv. Māņ-upīte with the stem mon- < *mān- ~ Lat. manō, -āre ‘to flow, run’ (Vanagas 1981: 219–220). *Ne-ēker- (?) Невечера, 1760 – tract (on the river Stary Sejm in Chernigov regiment; Lazarevskij 1866: 224) = *Ne-ēker- (?) ~ Lith. Vėkė, Vėko kalnas ~ Latv. vēcis ‘such place, where fishmen leave their breakfast’, Lith. vekerėti ‘to plough with uneven furrows’, vẽkeras ‘kerėpla, plow’ (Vanagas 1981: 370). *Ne-mald-uā Немолодва: «Д. Нижняя Злобинка при р. Немолодвѣ», «С. Дымово (куреня Дымовскаго) при рѣчкѣ Немолодвѣ», but also (twice) «<…> р. Немолодѣ» (Lazarevskij 1866: 596, 609, 615) = *Ne-mald-uā, cf. Lith. maldas ‘reed’ and hydronym Mald-upis (Vanagas 1981: 202). The ū-stems, with which this hydronym was identified in Slavonic use, often lose their marker, whence is the second variant with the loss of [в]. About Baltic hydronymy with suff. -uā see: (Vanagas 1970: 211–214). *Pal-angā Палужа: «Д. Кибирщина при р. Палужи», «на рѣкѣ Полужѣ», «на рѣкѣ Палужѣ» (Lazarevskij 1866: 747, 761). The name formally corresponds to the Slavonic geographical term палуж, cf. Beloruss. dial. пáлуж ‘place near meadow’, ‘meadow near the river’, cf. also the river name Пáлуж – tributary of the Besed River in the system of the Sozh ~ пáлуж ‘place near meadow’ (Jaškin 2005: 485). However, it is not excluded that the treatment of this hydronym as Balt. *Palang-, cf. Lith. Palangà – water name along with the suffixless Lith. Palà – hydronym ~ Latv. palas, paļas ‘marshy shore of the lake’, pali ‘flood, low tide, flowage; water overflowing its banks in spring or autumn’ (Vanagas 1970: 91–92: Pal-angà; Vanagas 1981: 241). About the appellative and toponymic derivatives with this suffix, see (Endzelīns 1971: 119; Ambrazas 2000: 149, 150, 151). Balt. *Palangā in Slavonic verbal use could be identified with the derivatives with pref. *pafrom *lǫgъ, *lǫž- ‘meadow’, i. e. as *Палѫга and then – *Палѫжа > Палужа. A different view (without specifics) is presented in: (Toporov, Trubačev 1962: 202 and above). *Pik-ils- (?) Пчилсъ, 1786 – the lake that is joined by a strait with the lake Выръ (Šafonskij 1851: 216, 217). Maybe, it is a write error in *Пчелсъ = *Pik-ils- (cf. modern Звíздил alongside with historical Звизделъ; SHU 1979: 210). The name is not entirely clear. Regarding the 16 morphemes. In these terms, the toponyms-composites with Baltic lexemes for the river, stream as the second part are very indicative, cf. *Dul-upē, *Ir-upē, *Mag-upē, *Gur-ap-, *Ras-apē, * ar-apē. The same goes for names with other hydrographic terms as the first or second components, cf. *Al-arnā, *Šeta-balinor *Šeta-alinē, * ers-akis, * eiš-a-da - etc. Apart from purely structural features, these compounds differ from Slavonic hydronyms in the model of naming, cf. “Flowing arna”, “Light pond”, “Stream from the swamp/lake” or “Flow with maelstrom”, “Flowing dava”, etc. As for the suffixal derivatives, then in cases of formal similarity between Baltic and Slavonic formants, Baltic genesis of the geographical name is determined due to the originality of the root morpheme exactly for the Baltic repertoire of roots, cf. *Ab-aā, *Eisr-aā, *Lat-aā, *Šar-aā or *Šer-ā ā, *Sēt-inas or *Sēt-inā, *Žard-enā, *Kem-ūlis. 6.2. Etymological analysis of the hydronymy in the mentioned areas gives grounds for the reconstruction of fifty relic Baltic lexemes of different structures. The details of their morphology are more or less clarified when separating Slavonic derivational extension as a means of their adaptation in a foreign language environment. 6.3. The adaptation of Baltic hydronymy in the old dialects of the Dnieper Slavs passed through two conditional stages. Judging by the results of the phonetic assimilation of the baltisms by Slavs, the first coincides with the age of some important processes, with the rebuilding of the phonetic structure of Slavonic word and also changes in consonantism and vocalism. The second refers to the time when all these processes were completed; therefore, Baltic toponymy was Slavized with minimal changes, with the exception of cases of the anlaut transformation (aphaeresis, prothesis) and folk-etymological rethinking of the structure. 6.4. Most of the reconstructed Baltic lexemes have structural-etymological equivalents only in the Lithuanian vocabulary, in the absence thereof in the Latvian and Old Prussian languages. 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