Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/duša

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

Perhaps from Proto-Balto-Slavic *dáuṣjāˀ, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰowsyeh₂, from *dʰews- +‎ *-yeh₂. Equivalent to *duxъ (“spirit”) +‎ *-ja.

Compare Lithuanian daũsios f pl (“air; empyrean, paradise”), Gaulish dusios (“phantasm”).

Noun

*dušà f[1][2]

soul
spirit

Declension

Declension of *dušà (soft a-stem, accent paradigm c)

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*dušà	*dȗši	*dȗšę̇
Accusative	*dȗšǫ	*dȗši	*dȗšę̇
Genitive	*dušę̇́	*dušù	*dũšь
Locative	*dȗšī	*dušù	dušàsъ, dušàxъ^*
Dative	*dušì	*dušàma	*dušàmъ
Instrumental	*dušejǫ́	*dušàma	*dušàmi
Vocative	*duše	*dȗši	*dȗšę̇

^* -asъ is the expected Balto-Slavic form but is found only in some Old Czech documents; -axъ is found everywhere else and is formed by analogy with other locative plurals in -xъ.

Related terms

*dušiti

Descendants

East Slavic:
- Old East Slavic: доуша (duša)
  - Belarusian: душа́ (dušá)
  - Russian: душа́ (dušá)
  - Ukrainian: душа́ (dušá)
South Slavic:
- Old Church Slavonic:
  Old Cyrillic: доуша (duša)
  Glagolitic: ⰴⱆⱎⰰ (duša)
- Bulgarian: душа (duša)
- Macedonian: душа (duša)
- Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic: ду́ша
  Latin: dúša
- Slovene: dúša (tonal orthography)
West Slavic:
- Old Czech: dušě
  - Czech: duše
    - Bohemian (Chod dialect): duše
    - Moravian (Mistřice): duša
- Polabian: dausă
- Polish: dusza
- Slovak: duša
  - Sorbian:
    - Upper Sorbian: duša
    - Lower Sorbian: duša

References

Derksen, Rick (2008), “*dušà”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 127: “f. jā (c) ‘soul’”
Olander, Thomas (2001), “duša dušě”, in Common Slavic accentological word list, Copenhagen: Editiones Olander: “c sjæl (PR 138)”

[1] Derksen, Rick (2008), “*dušà”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 127: “f. jā (c) ‘soul’”

[2] Olander, Thomas (2001), “duša dušě”, in Common Slavic accentological word list, Copenhagen: Editiones Olander: “c sjæl (PR 138)”