Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/pyrъ

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

*kolsъ *pyra

Formally from Proto-Balto-Slavic *pū́ˀras m, *pū́ˀra n (descendants flucturate between mobile /in Lithuanian/ and fixed /in Slavic/ accent paradigms), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *puHrós (“sort of wild wheat”)[1] (according to Witczak, originally Triticum compactum). Cognate with Lithuanian pū̃ras (“corn of winter-wheat”) (plural pūraĩ refers to the plant), Latvian pûr̨i pl (“winter wheat”), Old Prussian pure f (“rye brome”), Ancient Greek πῡρός (pūrós, “wheat”).

Synchronically, represents an o-stem variant of i-stems *pyrь, *pyrьjь, with no discernable difference in meaning. Possibly diachronically formed as a (common) objective counterpart to an earlier (neuter) r/n-stem mass noun. Similar constructions are also found in Proto-Indo-European *wesh₂erós (“spring corn”), *sweh₂réh₂ (“millet”) (whence Lithuanian sóra (“common millet”), Western-Curonian dial. Latvian sūra (“a kind of panicgrass”)).

(The similarity to Chuvash пӑри (pări, “farro or spelt”), occassionally noted in the literature, is however a coincidence as it derives from Proto-Turkic *bodaɣay (“wheat etc.”).)

Noun

*pỳrъ m[1][2]

wild rye, couch grass (Elymus spp.)
spelt (Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta)

Alternative forms

*pỳro n[3], *pỳra f (relic collective)

Declension

Declension of *pyrъ (hard o-stem, accent paradigm a)

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*pyrъ	*pỳra	*pỳri
Accusative	*pyrъ	*pỳra	*pỳry
Genitive	*pỳra	*pỳru	*pỳrъ
Locative	*pỳrě	*pỳru	*pỳrě̄xъ
Dative	*pỳru	*pỳroma	*pỳromъ
Instrumental	pỳrъmь, pỳromь^*	*pỳroma	*pỳrȳ
Vocative	*pỳre	*pỳra	*pỳri

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

Derived terms

*pyriti (sę) (“to flourish in spelt/couch grass (for field, area)”)
*pyrika, *pyrina, *pyrovina (“stem, root, or plant material of wheatgrass plant”)
*pyrьnъ (“partaining to wheatgrass”)
- *pyrьnikъ m, *pyrьnica f (“couch grass”) (in languages where the primary term refers to “spelt”)

Descendants

From masc. o-stem, typically referring to “couch grass”:

South Slavic:
- Bulgarian: пир (pir) (dialectal)
  - ⇒ пи́рел (pírel, “ryegrass”) (dialectal, formally from *pyryľь)
- Macedonian: пир (pir)
- Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic: пи̏р
  Latin: pȉr
West Slavic:
- Czech: pýr
- Slovak: pýr
- Sorbian:
  - Upper Sorbian: pyr

From neut. o-stem, typically referring to “spelt”:

East Slavic:
- Old East Slavic: пꙑро (pyro)
  - Russian: пыро (pyro) (obsolete)
  - Ukrainian: пиро (pyro) (obsolete)
South Slavic:
- Russian Church Slavonic: пꙑро (pyro)
- Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic: пи̏ро, пѝрика (dialectal)
  Latin: pȉrо, pìrika (dialectal)
- Slovene: pȋro (obsolete), píra
  - ⇒ zapíriti se (“to grow full with couch grass; to become red, to blush”)

References

Witczak, Krzysztof (2003) Indoewropejskie nazwy zbóż, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, pages 91-106
Olander, Thomas (2001), “pyrъ pyra”, in Common Slavic accentological word list, Copenhagen: Editiones Olander: “a (NA 138, 143; SA 18)”
Snoj, Marko (2016), “pira”, in Slovenski etimološki slovar³ (in Slovene), https://fran.si: “Pslovan. *py̋ro”

[Witczak-1] Witczak, Krzysztof (2003) Indoewropejskie nazwy zbóż, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, pages 91-106

[2] Olander, Thomas (2001), “pyrъ pyra”, in Common Slavic accentological word list, Copenhagen: Editiones Olander: “a (NA 138, 143; SA 18)”

[3] Snoj, Marko (2016), “pira”, in Slovenski etimološki slovar³ (in Slovene), https://fran.si: “Pslovan. *py̋ro”