князь

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word князь. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word князь, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say князь in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word князь you have here. The definition of the word князь will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofкнязь, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: knyaz

Belarusian

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *kъnędzь.

Doublet of ксёндз (ksjondz), a borrowing from Polish.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key):
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

князь (knjazʹm pers (genitive кня́зя, nominative plural князі́, genitive plural князёў, feminine княгі́ня, relational adjective кня́жацкі or кня́жы or кня́скі or кня́жыцкі, diminutive князёк)

  1. prince; duke

Declension

References

  • князь” in Belarusian–Russian dictionaries and Belarusian dictionaries at slounik.org

Russian

Russian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ru

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *kъnędzь, borrowed from Germanic, from Proto-Germanic *kuningaz. The feminine form княги́ня (knjagínja, princess) has preserved the original, Germanic g sound.

Doublet of ксёндз (ksjondz), a borrowing from Polish, and конунг (konung).

Pronunciation

Noun

князь (knjazʹm anim (genitive кня́зя, nominative plural князья́ or кня́зи*, genitive plural князе́й, feminine княги́ня, relational adjective кня́жеский or кня́жий, diminutive князёк) (* uncommon)

  1. prince; duke

Usage notes

  • In medieval Russia, the term князь (knjazʹ) denoted the ruler of a principality. In the Russian Empire, it was a high noble title which could be inherited or bestowed by the tsar, and was automatically granted to some members of the imperial family. The term is also used to translate some foreign noble titles, e.g. the German Fürst, the Italian principe, and the Georgian თავადი (tavadi) and ერისთავი (eristavi).
  • There is a special translative form in the saying из гря́зи в кня́зи (iz grjázi v knjázi, from rags to riches).

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Azerbaijani: knyaz
  • Kazakh: кінәз (kınäz)
  • Turkmen: knýaz
  • Polish: kniaź
  • Yakut: кинээс (kinees)

See also

Ukrainian

Etymology

Inherited from Old Ukrainian князь m (knjazʹ, a prince), кнѧ́зь m (knjázʹ), from Old East Slavic , from Proto-Slavic *kъ̏nędzь m (a prince). Doublet of ксьондз (ksʹondz) and кінг (kinh).

Pronunciation

Noun

князь (knjazʹm pers (genitive кня́зя, nominative plural кня́зі, genitive plural кня́зів, feminine княги́ня, relational adjective князі́вський or кня́жий or кня́зів or князьки́й, diminutive кня́зик)

  1. the monarch of a state or a principality: prince, king, duke
  2. a royal title: prince, duke, etc.
  3. groom, bridegroom

Usage notes

  • In medieval Ukraine (Kyivan Rus and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania), the term князь (knjazʹ) denoted the ruler of a state, later also of a principality. The ruler of a great state or an autonomous great principality was also called великий князь (grand duke) to distinguish him from the other dukes.

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

  • Shyrokov, V. A., editor (2010–2023), “князь”, in Словник української мови: у 20 т. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: in 20 vols] (in Ukrainian), volumes 1–14 (а – префере́нція), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka; Ukrainian Lingua-Information Fund, →ISBN