< Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic
Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/mana
Proto-Slavic
Etymology
Probably an n-extension of Proto-Indo-European *meh₂- (“to manipulate; great, good”), cognate with Latin mānēs (“ancestral spirits”), Latin manus (“hand, mound”). It is speculated that the initial meaning of the root is to make gestures → to manipulate (in Slavic) / to worship, pray (in Latin) → deception (in Slavic) / goodness (in Latin).
Despite the resemblance, a relation with Ancient Greek μανία (manía, “madness”) and Lithuanian mõnas (“apparition”) is doubtful. The later are usually derived from *men- (“to mind”).
Noun
*manà f
- decoy, deception, trick
- ghost
Alternative forms
- *manь f (“fraud”)
- *manьja (“apparition”)
- *manъ m (“trick”)
Inflection
Declension of *manà (hard a-stem)
Singular | Dual | Plural | |
---|---|---|---|
Nominative | *manà | *maně | *many |
Accusative | *manǫ | *maně | *many |
Genitive | *many | *manu | *manъ |
Locative | *maně | *manu | *manasъ, *manaxъ* |
Dative | *maně | *manama | *manamъ |
Instrumental | *manojǫ, *manǫ** | *manama | *manami |
Vocative | *mano | *maně | *many |
* -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.
** The second form occurs in languages that contract early across /j/ (e.g. Czech), while the first form occurs in languages that do not (e.g. Russian).
** The second form occurs in languages that contract early across /j/ (e.g. Czech), while the first form occurs in languages that do not (e.g. Russian).
Derived terms
- *majati (“to enchant”)
- *maxati (“to make gesture”)
- *maniti (“to deceive”)
- *manǫti (“to trick”)
- *manidlo (“trick”)
- *maniteĺь (“trickster”)
- *manьjakъ (“lazy person”)
- *manьlivъ (“deceitful”)
Descendants
- East Slavic:
- Old East Slavic: манъ m (manŭ), мана f (mana)
- Belarusian: мана́ (maná), мань (manʹ)
- Russian: мана́ (maná), ман (man)
- Ukrainian: мана́ (maná)
- Old East Slavic: манъ m (manŭ), мана f (mana)
- West Slavic:
- Polish: man (dialectal)
Further reading
- Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “мана”, in Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), transl. and suppl. by Oleg Trubachyov, Moscow: Progress
- Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1990), “*mana”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological Dictionary of Slavic Languages] (in Russian), issue 17 (*lъžь – *matješьnъjь), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 195