Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/ženъka

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 *ženà (“woman; wife”) +‎ *-ъka (“diminutive suffix”).

Noun

*žènъka f

woman
wife

Inflection

Declension of *ženъka (hard a-stem)

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*ženъka	*ženъcě	*ženъky
Accusative	*ženъkǫ	*ženъcě	*ženъky
Genitive	*ženъky	*ženъku	*ženъkъ
Locative	*ženъcě	*ženъku	ženъkasъ, ženъkaxъ^*
Dative	*ženъcě	*ženъkama	*ženъkamъ
Instrumental	ženъkojǫ, ženъkǫ^**	*ženъkama	*ženъkami
Vocative	*ženъko	*ženъcě	*ženъky

^* -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).

Descendants

East Slavic:
- Old East Slavic: же́нъка (žénŭka), же́нка (žénka), жо́нка (žónka)[1]
  - Old Ruthenian: жо́нъка (žónka), жо́нка (žónka), жу́нка (žúnka)[2][3][4]
    - Belarusian: жо́нка (žónka); жынка (žynka) (dialectal)
    - Rusyn: жу́нка (žúnka)
    - Ukrainian: жі́нка (žínka)[5]; жо́нка (žónka), жу́нка (žúnka), жи́нка (žýnka) (dialectal)
  - Russian: женка (ženka), жонка (žonka) (dialectal)
- Old Novgorodian: жонка (žonka)[6]
South Slavic:
- Bulgarian: жѐнка (žènka)
- Macedonian: женка (ženka)
- Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic: же̑нка
  Latin: žȇnka
- Slovene: ženka
West Slavic:
- Polish: żonka
- Sorbian:
  - Lower Sorbian: žonka

References

Sreznevsky, Izmail I. (1893), “женъка, жонка”, in Матеріалы для Словаря древне-русскаго языка по письменнымъ памятникамъ [Materials for the Dictionary of the Old East Slavic Language Based on Written Monuments]‎ (in Russian), volume 1: А – К, Saint Petersburg: Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, жонка column 859
Zhurawski, A. I., editor (1990), “жонка, женка”, in Гістарычны слоўнік беларускай мовы [Historical Dictionary of the Belarusian Language] (in Belarusian), issue 10 (жеребецъ – замена), Minsk: Navuka i tekhnika, →ISBN, page 51
Hrynchyshyn, D. H., editor (1977), “жонка, жонъка”, in Словник староукраїнської мови XIV–XV ст. [Dictionary of the Old Ukrainian Language of the 14ᵗʰ–15ᵗʰ cc.] (in Ukrainian), volume 1: А – М, Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, page 363
Hrynchyshyn, D. H., editor (2002), “жонка, жонъка, жунка”, in Словник української мови XVI – I пол. XVII ст. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: 16ᵗʰ – 1ˢᵗ half of 17ᵗʰ c.] (in Ukrainian), issue 9 (дѣдичъ – загонити), Lviv: Krypiakevych I.U.S., →ISBN, page 178
Bilodid, I. K., editor (1970–1980), “жі́нка”, in Словник української мови: в 11 т. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: in 11 vols] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka
Zaliznyak, Andrey (2004), “жонка”, in Древненовгородский диалект [Old Novgorod dialect] (Studia philologica) (in Russian), 2nd edition, Moscow: Languages of Slavic Cultures, →ISBN, page 738 of 872

[1] Sreznevsky, Izmail I. (1893), “женъка, жонка”, in Матеріалы для Словаря древне-русскаго языка по письменнымъ памятникамъ [Materials for the Dictionary of the Old East Slavic Language Based on Written Monuments]‎ (in Russian), volume 1: А – К, Saint Petersburg: Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, жонка column 859

[2] Zhurawski, A. I., editor (1990), “жонка, женка”, in Гістарычны слоўнік беларускай мовы [Historical Dictionary of the Belarusian Language] (in Belarusian), issue 10 (жеребецъ – замена), Minsk: Navuka i tekhnika, →ISBN, page 51

[3] Hrynchyshyn, D. H., editor (1977), “жонка, жонъка”, in Словник староукраїнської мови XIV–XV ст. [Dictionary of the Old Ukrainian Language of the 14ᵗʰ–15ᵗʰ cc.] (in Ukrainian), volume 1: А – М, Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, page 363

[4] Hrynchyshyn, D. H., editor (2002), “жонка, жонъка, жунка”, in Словник української мови XVI – I пол. XVII ст. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: 16ᵗʰ – 1ˢᵗ half of 17ᵗʰ c.] (in Ukrainian), issue 9 (дѣдичъ – загонити), Lviv: Krypiakevych I.U.S., →ISBN, page 178

[5] Bilodid, I. K., editor (1970–1980), “жі́нка”, in Словник української мови: в 11 т. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: in 11 vols] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka

[6] Zaliznyak, Andrey (2004), “жонка”, in Древненовгородский диалект [Old Novgorod dialect] (Studia philologica) (in Russian), 2nd edition, Moscow: Languages of Slavic Cultures, →ISBN, page 738 of 872