Славен
Serbo-Croatian
Alternative forms
- (now chiefly Serbian, Ekavian) Сло̀ве̄н
- (now chiefly Serbian, Ijekavian) Сло̀вје̄н
- (archaic, Ikavian) Сло̀вӣн
Etymology
Ultimately from Proto-Slavic *slověninъ, but, unlike the alternative forms, not directly inherited. The -a- vowel in the first syllable apparently derives from Russian Church Slavonic or Russian славяни́н (slavjanín), perhaps with influence from сла̏ва by folk etymology.[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /slǎʋeːn/
- Hyphenation: Сла‧вен
Proper noun
Сла̀ве̄н m (Latin spelling Slàvēn)
- (now chiefly Bosnia, Croatia) Slav
- (Serbia) a man from Slavonia
- a male given name
Usage notes
Until the 18th century, the form of this word with -o- in the first syllable was almost universal throughout the Serbo-Croatian-speaking area (with varying reflexes of yat). The form with -a- seems to have originated in Slavonic-Serbian and spread under the influence of Pan-Slavism during the 19th century. By the 20th century, the form with -a- became the most common form in Croatia and all but disappeared from Serbia, effectively reversing the early 19th-century distribution of the two forms.
Declension
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | Сла̀ве̄н | Славе́ни |
| genitive | Славе́на | Славена |
| dative | Славену | Славенима |
| accusative | Славена | Славене |
| vocative | Славену | Славени |
| locative | Славену | Славенима |
| instrumental | Славеном | Славенима |
References
- Skok, Petar (1971–1974) Etimologijski rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika (in Serbo-Croatian), Zagreb: JAZU