Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/nebьce

< Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic

Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/nebьce

This Proto-Slavic entry contains reconstructed words 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

Diminutive of *nebo (“sky”), formed via *-ьce. Semantically equivalent (though, not morphologically) to Latin nebula (“cloud”). The meaning either reflects the position of the palate at the roof of the mouth cavity, just like the sky is the roof of the world, or less likely continues the archaic meaning pseudo-moisture, which according to some[1] is the original meaning of Proto-Indo-European *nebʰ-.

Most other Slavic languages also use derivatives of *nebo to denote palate, however, not exactly the diminutive in *-ьce: e.g. Russian нёбо (njóbo), Ukrainian піднебі́ння (pidnebínnja), Polish podniebienie, Slovak podnebie. The only exception is Czech patro.

Noun

*nebьce n

1. palate
2. roof of cavity

Declension

Declension of *nebьce (soft o-stem)

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*nebьce	*nebьci	*nebьca
Accusative	*nebьce	*nebьci	*nebьca
Genitive	*nebьca	*nebьcu	*nebьcь
Locative	*nebьci	*nebьcu	*nebьcixъ
Dative	*nebьcu	*nebьcema	*nebьcemъ
Instrumental	*nebьcьmь, *nebьcemь*	*nebьcema	*nebьci
Vocative	*nebьce	*nebьci	*nebьca

^* -ьmь in North Slavic, -emь in South Slavic.

Related terms

• *nebo (“sky”)
• *nebьnъ (“palatal, celestial”)
• *neběnъ (“celestial”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Ukrainian: не́бце (nébce, “ceiling arc”) (obsolete)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: небцѐ (nebcѐ)
  • Macedonian: непце (nepce)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic: нѐпце

    Latin: nèpce

  • Slovene: nę̑bce (colloquial)
• West Slavic:
  • Slovak: nebce (obsolete)

Further reading

• Trubačóv, Oleg, editor (1997), “*nebьce”, in Etimologičeskij slovarʹ slavjanskix jazykov [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), volume 24, Moscow: Nauka, page 109
• Georgiev Vl. I., Duridanov I., editors (1995), “небце”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 4, Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, page 583

References

1. Trubačóv, Oleg, editor (1997), “*nebo”, in Etimologičeskij slovarʹ slavjanskix jazykov [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), volume 24, Moscow: Nauka, page 101