Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/-akъ

This Proto-Slavic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Slavic

Etymology

Deverbal derivations are easily secondary, motivated by parallel formations, e.g.

North Slavic *ědakъ (“greedy man”) ← *est < *ed-ti (“to eat”) : *ěda (“food”).

Comparison with cognates in other Indo-European languages indicates antiquity of deadjectival formations:

Ancient Greek νέος (néos, “new, young”) → νέᾱξ (néāx), νέᾱκος (néākos, “young man”) : Slavic *novъ (“new”) → *novakъ (“novice”)
Lithuanian naũjas (“new”) → naujõkas (“novice”)

Cognate with Proto-Celtic *-ākos (see Etymology 2).

Suffix

*-akъ m

Deadjectival, forming nouns denoting a carrier of a property.
*junъ (“young”) → *junakъ (“a young man”)
*novъ (“new”) → *novakъ (“novice”)
*lěvъ (“left”) → *lěvakъ (“left-handed man”)
*svojь (“one's own”) → *svojakъ (“relative, cousin”)
Denominal, forming nouns denoting something connected in meaning to the base-word.
*rodъ (“kin”) → *roďakъ (“relative, cousin”)
*kory (“root”) → *koreňakъ (“native, one from the root”)
*moře (“sea”) → *mořakъ (“sailor”)
*ryba (“fish”) → *rybakъ (“fishing”)
Denominal, forming masculine counterparts of feminine nouns.
*gǫsь (“goose”) → *gǫsakъ (“gander”)
Deverbal, from the root, forming agent nouns.
*prositi (“to ask; beg”) → *prosjakъ >*prošakъ (“beggar; asker”)

Declension

Declension of *-akъ (hard o-stem)

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*-akъ	*-aka	*-aci
Accusative	*-akъ	*-aka	*-aky
Genitive	*-aka	*-aku	*-akъ
Locative	*-acě	*-aku	*-acěxъ
Dative	*-aku	*-akoma	*-akomъ
Instrumental	-akъmь, -akomь^*	*-akoma	*-aky
Vocative	*-ače	*-aka	*-aci

^* -ъmь in North Slavic, -omь in South Slavic.

Alternative forms

*-jakъ (causing iotation of the preceding consonant)

Derived terms

Proto-Slavic terms suffixed with *-akъ

Descendants

East Slavic:
- Old East Slavic: -акъ (-akŭ)
  - Belarusian: -ак (-ak)
  - Russian: -ак (-ak)
  - Ukrainian: -ак (-ak)
South Slavic:
- Old Church Slavonic:
  Old Cyrillic: -акъ (-akŭ)
  Glagolitic: -ⰰⰽⱏ (-akŭ)
- Bulgarian: -ак (-ak)
- Macedonian: -ак (-ak)
- Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic: -ак
  Latin: -ak
- Slovene: -ak
West Slavic:
- Czech: -ák, -ak
- Kashubian: -ôk
- Polish: -ak
- Slovak: -ák, -ak
- Slovincian: -ȯk, -åk
- Sorbian:
  - Upper Sorbian: -ak
  - Lower Sorbian: -ak