Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/grěxъ

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

Potentially a conflation of more than one semantic kernels:

Mledenov, Vasmer, Trubačev, Skok: From an earlier *grēxŭ, stemming from *grěti (“to heat”) +‎ *-xъ, based on related terms conveying thermal states: dial. Bulgarian гря́шка (grjáška, “scorch, fever”), dial. Russian гре́шина (gréšina, “blaze”). Perhaps originally implying “fervour, ardour” → “guilt”.
Iljinsky, Endzelīns: From an earlier *grai(k)śŭ, related to Lithuanian graižùs (“winding, crooked”), Latvian grèizs (“crooked, slanting, diagonal”) and possibly Proto-Slavic *grěza (“delirium, confusion”). Originally referring to “skewness, misalignment” > “error”. Such a meaning is reflected in agricultural vocabulary: cf. dial. Polish grzecha, ogrzech (“a vacant strip in a sown field or a piece of land not ploughed by the ploughman's carelessness”), dial. Russian грехва (grexva), о́грех (ógrex), Ukrainian о́грех (óhrex, “place not ploughed or badly ploughed”), dial. Belarusian грэх (hrex, “a field that has been missed by sowing or ploughing”). Additionally, in South Slavic (except for Slovene) the principal word for “mistake” is the diminutive form of *grěxъ. For meaning shift compare *krivъ (“crooked, bent; wrong”) : *krivьda (“evil, injustice”).
Proposed further cognates: Akin to Ancient Greek χρεῖος (khreîos, “liability, debt, need”) (Pedersen) or Ancient Greek χρῑ́ω (khrī́ō, “to smear, to anoint”), χροΐζω (khroḯzō, “to concern”) (Berneker).

Noun

*grě̃xъ m[1][2][3][4][5]

per etymology from early *grēxŭ:
1. fervour, ardour (damaging thermal state)
2. (secondary) guilt, grief, regret
per etymology from early *grai(k)śŭ:
1. error, mistake, misconduct
  Synonym: *xyba

Usage notes

Modern descendants generally bear the abstract meaning “sin”. It arose post-Proto-Slavic, under the influence of Christianity, and is a calque of Latin and Greek terms: compare Latin peccātum (“error, mistake, deficiency; sin”), peccāre (“to trip, stumble; to transgress”), Ancient Greek ἁμαρτάνω (hamartánō, “to miss; to fail, sin”), ἁμαρτία (hamartía, “error, mistake; guilt, sin”).

Inflection

Declension of *grě̃xъ (hard o-stem, accent paradigm b)

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*grě̃xъ	*grě̄xà	*grě̄śì
Accusative	*grě̃xъ	*grě̄xà	*grě̄xỳ
Genitive	*grě̄xà	*grě̄xù	*grě̃xъ
Locative	*grě̄śě̀	*grě̄xù	*grě̃śěxъ
Dative	*grě̄xù	*grě̄xòma	*grě̄xòmъ
Instrumental	grě̄xъ̀mь, grě̄xòmь^*	*grě̄xòma	*grě̃xy
Vocative	*grěše	*grě̄xà	*grě̄śì

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

Derived terms

nouns

*grěšina
*grěšьka (diminutive)
*grěxota

verbs

*grěšiti impf (“to err, make mistakes”)
*grěxovati

adjectives

*grěšьnъ (“wrong, erroneous”)
*grěxovъ

Descendants

East Slavic:
- Old East Slavic: грѣхъ (grěxŭ)
  - Old Ruthenian: грѣхъ (hrěx)
    - Belarusian: грэх (hrex)
    - Rusyn: грїх (hrjix)
    - Ukrainian: гріх (hrix), грех (hrex)
  - Russian: грех (grex)
  - → Latvian: grēks
South Slavic:
- Old Church Slavonic:
  Old Cyrillic: грѣхъ (grěxŭ)
  Glagolitic: ⰳⱃⱑⱈⱏ (grěxŭ)
- Bulgarian: грях (grjah), грех (greh)
- Macedonian: грев (grev)
- Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic: гре̑х, грије̑х (dialectal), грих (dialectal)
  Latin: grȇh, grijȇh (dialectal), grih (dialectal)
  - Chakavian (Vrgada): grĩh
  - Chakavian (Orbanići): grⁱẽh
  - Chakavian (Crikvenica): grĩh
  - Chakavian (Gračišće): griẽh
  - Chakavian (Orlec): grȇh
  - Chakavian (Grobnik): grȋh
  - Chakavian (Oštarije): grȋj
  - Chakavian (Southwestern Istria): grȋh
  - Chakavian (Stinatz): gr'i:
  - Kajkavian (Varaždin): grẹ̑h
  - Kajkavian (Ozalj): grî(h)
  - Kajkavian (Čabar): gr'ejh
- Slovene: grẹ́h (tonal orthography)
  - (Črni vrh, Idrija): γrȋəχ
  - (Zadrečka dolina): g'reːx
  - (Carniola dialect): γréi̯x
  - (Cerkno dialect): γrī̍x
  - (Gail Valley dialect): gríəx
  - (Natisone Valley dialect): γriéx
  - (Prekmurje dialect): gre̍i̯
West Slavic:
- Old Czech: hřiech
  - Czech: hřích
    - Moravian (Mistřice): hřích
- Polabian: greχ
- Old Polish: grzech
  - Polish: grzech
- Slovak: hriech
- Kashubian: grzéch
- Silesian: grzych
- Slovincian: gřė̀χ́; gřė̀i̯χ́ (dialectal)
- Sorbian:
  - Lower Sorbian: grěch
  - Upper Sorbian: hrěch

References

Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1980), “*grěxъ”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological Dictionary of Slavic Languages] (in Russian), issue 7 (*golvačь – *gyžati), Moscow: Nauka, page 115
Derksen, Rick (2008), “*grě́xъ”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 197
Sławski, Franciszek, editor (2001), “grěchъ”, in Słownik prasłowiański [Proto-Slavic Dictionary] (in Polish), volume 8 (goda – gyža), Wrocław: National Ossoliński Institute, →ISBN, page 207
Olander, Thomas (2001), “grěxъ grěxa”, in Common Slavic accentological word list, Copenhagen: Editiones Olander: “b (SA 78, 187, 199; PR 134; MP 16; RPT 98, 101)”
Snoj, Marko (2016), “greh”, in Slovenski etimološki slovar³ (in Slovene), https://fran.si: “Pslovan. *grěxъ̏”

Anikin, A. E. (2018), “грешина”, in Русский этимологический словарь [Russian Etymological Dictionary] (in Russian), issue 12 (грак – дбать), Moscow: Nestor-Historia, →ISBN, page 93
Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “грех”, in Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), transl. and suppl. by Oleg Trubachyov, Moscow: Progress
Boryś, Wiesław (2005), “grzech”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN, pages 185
Zhurawski, A. I., editor (1986), “грѣхъ”, in Гістарычны слоўнік беларускай мовы [Historical Dictionary of the Belarusian Language] (in Belarusian), issue 7 (гляденье – девичество), Minsk: Navuka i tekhnika, page 148
Brückner, Aleksander (1927), “grzech”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish), Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna, page 161
Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1982–2012), “гріх”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka
Georgiev V. I., editor (1971), “грях”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1, Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, page 290
Yelena Aleksandrovna Potekhina (2012), “Cемантика и прагматика религиозного текста (на материале рукописи «Чин исповеданию» из собрания бывшего старообрядческого монастыря в Войнове)”, in Language and Method, volume 1, ISSN 2299-5668

[1] Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1980), “*grěxъ”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological Dictionary of Slavic Languages] (in Russian), issue 7 (*golvačь – *gyžati), Moscow: Nauka, page 115

[2] Derksen, Rick (2008), “*grě́xъ”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 197

[3] Sławski, Franciszek, editor (2001), “grěchъ”, in Słownik prasłowiański [Proto-Slavic Dictionary] (in Polish), volume 8 (goda – gyža), Wrocław: National Ossoliński Institute, →ISBN, page 207

[4] Olander, Thomas (2001), “grěxъ grěxa”, in Common Slavic accentological word list, Copenhagen: Editiones Olander: “b (SA 78, 187, 199; PR 134; MP 16; RPT 98, 101)”

[5] Snoj, Marko (2016), “greh”, in Slovenski etimološki slovar³ (in Slovene), https://fran.si: “Pslovan. *grěxъ̏”