Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/zajęcь
Proto-Slavic
Etymology
From an earlier *zajękъ (still reflected in Bulgarian and Macedonian), via progressive palatalization. Possibly inherited from Proto-Balto-Slavic *źṓˀjinkas[1], cognate[2] with dial. Lithuanian zuĩkis < *zuojįkas (however, not Latvian zaķis, which looks like a Slavic borrowing). Further origin uncertain:
- Mladenov, Vasmer, Snoj: Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰey-, *ǵʰeh₂y- (“to dash, to hurtle, to hop”), akin to Lithuanian žaĩsti (“to play around”) and Old Armenian ձի (ji, “horse”), Proto-Indo-Iranian *ȷ́ʰáyas (< Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéyos). From the same root may also be Proto-Germanic *gaits (“goat”), Latin haedus (“buck”).
- Löwenthal: From Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂- (“to nourish, earth”) whence Ancient Greek γῆ (gê, “Earth”) (possibly Ancient Greek γᾰ́λᾰ (gála)). Dismissed by Vasmer.
Shares ending with Proto-Slavic *měsęcь (“month”), *koręcь (“root”), probably resultant from a k-extension over an older n-stem[3]. Further attested in animal names: e.g. Bulgarian пуяк ~ пуек (pujak ~ puek, “male fowl”), суяк ~ суек (sujak ~ suek, “ground squirrel”), dial. козяк ~ козек (kozjak ~ kozek, “buck”); and in diminutives: e.g. Bulgarian ма́лечко (málečko), па́лечко (pálečko) < мале (male), пале (pale) + *-ęč-ьko.
Noun
zàję̄cь m[4][5]
- rabbit, hare
Alternative forms
It is likely that such a form did not exist, where a morphological replacement of the suffix simply took place.
- *zàjьcь
Declension
Singular | Dual | Plural | |
---|---|---|---|
Nominative | *zàję̄cь | *zàję̄ca | *zàję̄ci |
Accusative | *zàję̄cь | *zàję̄ca | *zàję̄cę̇ |
Genitive | *zàję̄ca | *zàję̄cu | *zàję̄cь |
Locative | *zàję̄ci | *zàję̄cu | *zàję̄cīxъ |
Dative | *zàję̄cu | *zàję̄cema | *zàję̄cēmъ |
Instrumental | *zàję̄cьmь, *zàję̄cemь* | *zàję̄cema | *zàję̄cī |
Vocative | *zàję̄če | *zàję̄ca | *zàję̄ci |
Derived terms
- *zajęcevъ
- *zajęčь
- *zajęčьskъ
- *zajęčьstъ
- *zajęčařь
Related terms
- *zajьka
- *zajukъ
Descendants
- East Slavic:
- Old East Slavic: заѧць (zaęcĭ), заець (zaecĭ)
- Old Ruthenian: за́ѧцъ (zájac), за́ецъ (zájec), за́ѧць (zájacʹ), за́ець (zájecʹ)
- Belarusian: за́яц (zájac)
- Rusyn: за́яць (zájacʹ)
- Pannonian Rusyn: за́яц (zájac)
- Ukrainian: за́єць (zájecʹ); за́яць (zájacʹ), за́яєць (zájajecʹ) (dialectal)
- Middle Russian: за́ѧцъ (zájac), за́ецъ (zájec)
- Russian: за́яц (zájac); за́ец (zájec) (dialect); зай (zaj) (Pskov dialect)
- Old Ruthenian: за́ѧцъ (zájac), за́ецъ (zájec), за́ѧць (zájacʹ), за́ець (zájecʹ)
- Old Novgorodian: ꙁаѧць (zaęcĭ)
- Old East Slavic: заѧць (zaęcĭ), заець (zaecĭ)
- South Slavic:
- Old Church Slavonic:
- Old Cyrillic: заѩць (zajęcĭ)
- Glagolitic: ⰸⰰⱗⱌⱐ (zajęcĭ)
- Bulgarian: за́ец (záec) (obsolete), за́ек (záek); dial. зо́ек (zóek), зо́як (zójak) (Torlak dialects), за́енц (záenc) (dialectal)
- Macedonian: зајак (zajak)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: зе̑ц, за̀јац
- Latin: zȇc, zàjac
- Slovene: zȃjəc, zẹ̑c (tonal orthography)
- Old Church Slavonic:
- West Slavic:
- Old Czech: zajiec
- Czech: zajíc
- Bohemian (Chod dialect): zajíc
- Czech: zajíc
- Kashubian: zajc
- Polabian: zojąc
- Old Polish: zając
- Polish: zając
- Slovak: zajac
- Sorbian:
- Upper Sorbian: zajac
- Lower Sorbian: zajec (dialectal)
- Old Czech: zajiec
References
- Chernykh, P. (1993), “за́яц”, 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 318
- T. Skikevich, 2007: Балто-славянский период в формировании лексики русского языка (на примере наименований диких животных) at Materials from International Linguistic Conference at Ryazan State University, May 2007, , page 183
- Sławski, Franciszek, editor (1974), “Suf. -cь, -ce”, in Słownik prasłowiański [Proto-Slavic Dictionary] (in Polish), volume 1 (a – bьzděti), Wrocław: National Ossoliński Institute, page 97: “zajęcь < *ǵhāi̯-en-ko-”
- Snoj, Marko (2016), “zȃjec”, in Slovenski etimološki slovar3 (in Slovene), https://fran.si: “*za̋jęcь”
- Olander, Thomas (2001), “zajęcь”, in Common Slavic accentological word list, Copenhagen: Editiones Olander: “a (PR 132)”
Further reading
- Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “заяц”, in Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), transl. and suppl. by Oleg Trubachyov, Moscow: Progress
- Brückner, Aleksander (1927), “zając”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish), Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna, page 643
- Georgiev V. I., editor (1971), “заек”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1, Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, page 587