Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/avorъ

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

*àvorъ

Etymology

Rather unlikely from intermediary *āorъ, having been borrowed from Proto-West Germanic *ahurn (“maple”), particularly from a late form without intervocalic [h].[1] Otherwise, maybe from the same European substrate[1] after the underlying language underwent a sound change from [k] to [v] or a sound shift of comparable consonants. The later borrowing into Proto-Slavic is more probable due to the retention of the exact synonym *klenъ. Compare Latin acer and Ancient Greek ἄκαστος (ákastos).

Adding to that, the maple (Acer) grew only in the western half and particularly the Norway maple (Acer platanoides) as its most widespread kind reached only the western border of the Yamna culture in case that both were even as far distributed from Europe up to there as nowadays.[2][3] On the one hand, the frequency of the Norway maple is condensed into Europe, on the other hand, it is considered native as well to the eastern end of the Caucasus[3] but this does not exclude it having been introduced as it might not have been recorded. If any maple overall only recently extended up to the Caspian-Pontic steppe and surrounding regions, back then it might not have even been adjacent to the Yamna culture at all. This makes a borrowing from a substrate into ancient or early medieval Indo-European languages substantially necessary. Non-cognate Ancient Greek σφένδᾰμνος (sphéndamnos, “maple”) and Old Armenian դղքի (dłkʿi, “maple”) may have a substrate etymology as well even though a possible internal formation was also considered for Ancient Greek.

If Germanic, Latin and Greek words are of native origin, they might derive from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”) which is supposed to refer to the shape of the leaves.

Noun

*àvorъ m[4][5]

maple (any plant of the genus Acer)
Synonym: *klenъ

Declension

Declension of *avorъ (hard o-stem, accent paradigm a)

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*avorъ	*avora	*avori
Accusative	*avorъ	*avora	*avory
Genitive	*avora	*avoru	*avorъ
Locative	*avorě	*avoru	*avorě̄xъ
Dative	*avoru	*avoroma	*avoromъ
Instrumental	avorъmь, avoromь^*	*avoroma	*avorȳ
Vocative	*avore	*avora	*avori

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

Derived terms

nouns

*avorina f (“maple; maple wood”)
*avorišče n (“maple forest”)
*avorьje n (“maple forest”)
*avorьnica f (“maple?”)
*avorьnikъ m (“maple?”)

adjectives

*avorьnъ (“(made) of maple”)
*avorovъ (“(made) of maple”)

Descendants

East Slavic:
- Old Ruthenian: ꙗ́воръ (jávor)
  - Belarusian: я́вар (jávar)
  - Rusyn: я́вур (jávur)
  - Ukrainian: я́вір (jávir); явор (javor) (dialectal)
- Russian: я́вор (jávor)
South Slavic:
- Old Church Slavonic: *аворъ (*avorŭ)
  - Church Slavonic: аворъ (avorŭ), ꙗворъ (javorŭ)
- Bulgarian: я́вор (jávor), а́вор (ávor)
- Macedonian: јавор (javor)
- Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic: ја̏вор; јахор (dialectal)
  Latin: jȁvor; jahor (dialectal)
- Slovene: jávor (tonal orthography)
West Slavic:
- Old Czech: javor
  - Czech: javor
    - Bohemian (Chod dialect): jabor
- Kashubian: jawòr
- Polabian: jovåră pl
- Old Polish: jawor
  - Polish: jawor; jawór, jabór (dialectal)
    - → Vilamovian: jāwer
- Slovak: javor
- Sorbian:
  Lower Sorbian: jawor
  Upper Sorbian: jawor

Non-Slavic:
- → Lithuanian: jõvaras

References

Pronk-Tiethoff, Saskia E. (2013) The Germanic loanwords in Proto-Slavic‎ (in English), Amsterdam - New York: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 170-171
Nowak, David; Rowntree, Rowan (1990), "History and range of Norway maple" in Journal of Arboriculture, volume 16, number 11, pp. 291-292
Caudullo, Giovanni; de Rigo, Daniele (2016), "Acer platanoides in Europe - Distribution, habitat, usage and threats" in European Atlas of Forest Tree Species, Luxembourg: Publication Office of the European Union, p. 54
Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1974), “*avorъ I”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological Dictionary of Slavic Languages] (in Russian), issue 1 (*a – *besědьlivъ), Moscow: Nauka, page 96
Sławski, Franciszek, editor (1974), “avorъ : javorъ”, in Słownik prasłowiański [Proto-Slavic Dictionary] (in Polish), volume 1 (a – bьzděti), Wrocław: National Ossoliński Institute, page 166