< Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic
Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/měra
 | 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
From Proto-Balto-Slavic *mḗˀrāˀ, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁-reh₂, from *meh₁- (“to measure”).
Cognate with Ancient Greek μῆτις (mêtis, “plan, ruse”), Old English mǣþ (“measure”), Sanskrit माति (mā́ti), मिमाति (mímāti, “to measure, to assign”), मात्रा (mā́trā, “measure”), Latin mētior (“to measure”), Albanian mat, mas (“to measure”).
Noun
*mě̀ra f[1][2]
- measure
Inflection
Declension of *mě̀ra (hard a-stem, accent paradigm a)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *mě̀ra | *mě̀rě | *mě̀ry |
| Accusative | *mě̀rǫ | *mě̀rě | *mě̀ry |
| Genitive | *mě̀ry | *mě̀ru | *mě̀rъ |
| Locative | *mě̀rě | *mě̀ru | *mě̀rasъ, *mě̀raxъ* |
| Dative | *mě̀rě | *mě̀rama | *mě̀ramъ |
| Instrumental | *mě̀rojǫ, *mě̀rǭ** | *mě̀rama | *mě̀ramī |
| Vocative | *mě̀ro | *mě̀rě | *mě̀ry |
* -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
- *mě̀riti (“to measure”)
Descendants
- East Slavic:
- Old East Slavic: мѣра (měra)
- Belarusian: ме́ра (mjéra)
- Russian: ме́ра (méra)
- Ukrainian: мі́ра (míra)
- → Finnic (borrowed separately or spread):
- Estonian: määr
- Finnish: määrä
- Ingrian: määrä
- Karelian: meärä
- Votic: määre
- Old East Slavic: мѣра (měra)
- South Slavic:
- Old Church Slavonic:
- Cyrillic: мѣра (měra)
- Glagolitic: [Term?]
- Bulgarian: мя́ра (mjára)
- Macedonian: мера (mera)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: ме̏ра
- Latin: mȅra
- Chakavian (Vrgada): mȉra
- Chakavian (Orbanići): mȅra
- Slovene: mẹ́ra (tonal orthography)
- Old Church Slavonic:
- West Slavic:
- Old Czech: miera
- Czech: míra
- Bohemian (Chod dialect): míra
- Czech: míra
- Polabian: m’oro
- Old Polish: miara, miera
- Polish: miara
- Slovak: miera
- Slovincian: mjáră
- Sorbian:
- Upper Sorbian: měra
- Lower Sorbian: měra
- Old Czech: miera
Separate borrowings:
- → Hungarian: mera
Further reading
- Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “ме́ра”, in Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), transl. and suppl. by Oleg Trubachyov, Moscow: Progress
- Chernykh, P. (1993), “ме́ра”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), volume 1 (а – пантомима), 3rd edition, Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 524
- Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1992), “*měra”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological Dictionary of Slavic Languages] (in Russian), issue 18 (*matoga – *mękyšьka), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 178
References
- Derksen, Rick (2008), “*mě̀ra”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 312: “f. ā (a) ‘measure’”
- Olander, Thomas (2001), “měra”, in Common Slavic accentological word list, Copenhagen: Editiones Olander: “a (PR 132; RPT 109)”