слон

Belarusian

Alternative forms

• słon — Łacinka (Belarusian Latin alphabet)

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *slonъ, possibly a deverbative from Proto-Slavic *sloniti sę (“to lean against”), relating to а medieval story of а sleeping elephant who leaned against a tree. According to some other sources, it is related to the Turkish arslan (“lion”).

Pronunciation

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• Audio

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Noun

слон • (slon) m animal (genitive слана́, nominative plural сланы́, genitive plural слано́ў)

1. elephant
2. (chess) bishop

Declension

See also

Chess pieces in Belarusian · ша́хматныя фігу́ры (šáxmatnyja fihúry) (layout · text)
каро́ль (karólʹ)	ферзь (fjerzʹ)	ладдзя́ (laddzjá)	слон (slon)	конь (konʹ)	пе́шка (pjéška)

Bulgarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

• Audio

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• Rhymes: -ɔn

Etymology 1

From Proto-Slavic *slonъ, possibly a deverbative from Proto-Slavic *sloniti sę (“to lean against”), relating to а medieval story of а sleeping elephant who leaned against a tree. According to some other sources, it is related to the Turkish arslan (“lion”).

Noun

слон • (slon) m (feminine слони́ца)

1. elephant (usually a male one)

Declension

References

• “слон”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2014
• Todorov, T. A., Racheva, M., editors (2010), “слон²”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volumes 7 (слòво – теря̀свам), Sofia: Prof. Marin Drinov Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 113

Etymology 2

From Proto-Slavic *slonъ (“offset”).

Noun

слон • (slon) m

1. (dialectal) shelter, offset (used for protection)

   Synonyms: стряха (strjaha), навес (naves)

2. (dialectal) pen, sheepfold

   Synonyms: кошара (košara), котец (kotec)

Declension

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

• заслон (zaslon, “cover, screen”)
• подслон (podslon, “shelter, refuge”)

References

• Todorov, T. A., Racheva, M., editors (2010), “слон¹”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volumes 7 (слòво – теря̀свам), Sofia: Prof. Marin Drinov Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 112

Macedonian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *slonъ, possibly a deverbative from Proto-Slavic *sloniti sę (“to lean against”), relating to а medieval story of а sleeping elephant who leaned against a tree. According to some other sources, it is related to the Turkish arslan (“lion”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Rhymes: -ɔn

Noun

слон • (slon) m (plural слонови, feminine слоница, relational adjective слонов, diminutive слонче, augmentative слониште)

1. elephant

Declension

Russian

Alternative forms

• слонъ (slon) — Pre-reform orthography (1918)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *slonъ, possibly a deverbative from Proto-Slavic *sloniti sę (“to lean against”), relating to а medieval story of а sleeping elephant who leaned against a tree. According to some other sources, it is related to the Turkish arslan (“lion”).

Vovin (2011) proposes that Slavic slonъ reflects Old Chinese 象 (*ljaŋʔ /⁠*slaŋ⁠/, “elephant”), an etymology previously suggested by Ivanov (1977: 156–57) albeit with an incorrect Old Chinese reconstruction *sðaŋ. As Vovin notes, contact between Slavic and Old Chinese is out of the question, so the solution might arise from an intermediary source. Ivanov (1977:154) believes that the Chuvash forms слон (slon), сӑлан (sălan, “elephant”) are Russian loans, with the latter being called into question by Vovin on phonetic grounds. According to him, Russian /o/ (phonetically a diphthong with a mid-high syllabic element ) is unlikely to be borrowed as Chuvash low vowel /a/. The reverse, namely the borrowing of Bulgar slightly labialised /a/ as Slavic /o/ is more than likely. Chuvash сӑлан (sălan, “elephant”) is exactly the expected outcome of the Old Chinese *slaŋ with the insertion of ⟨ă⟩ breaking the OC initial cluster /sl-/ and typical Bulgar shift of Proto-Turkic *ŋ to /n/. The presence of this word in Chuvash places proto-Bulgar speakers in the vicinity of Northern China no later than first century BCE, because approximately after that date the initial clusters in Old Chinese underwent the process of simplification.

Pronunciation

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Noun

слон • (slon) m anim (genitive слона́, nominative plural слоны́, genitive plural слоно́в, feminine слони́ха, relational adjective слоно́вый or слоно́вий, diminutive сло́ник, augmentative слони́ще or слоня́ра)

1. elephant
2. (chess) bishop
3. (colloquial, usually about children) one who walks loudly or heavily; stomper

Declension

Abbreviations

• (chess piece): С (S)

Synonyms

• (chess piece): офице́р (oficér) (informal)

Derived terms

• слонёнок (slonjónok)
• слони́ха (sloníxa)
• слоно́вник (slonóvnik)
• слонопота́м (slonopotám)

Descendants

• → Ingrian: slona
• → Kildin Sami: слонн (slonn)
• → Komi-Zyrian: слӧн (slön)

See also

• морско́й слон (morskój slon)

Chess pieces in Russian · ша́хматные фигу́ры (šáxmatnyje figúry) (layout · text)
коро́ль (korólʹ)	ферзь (ferzʹ)	ладья́ (ladʹjá)	слон (slon)	конь (konʹ)	пе́шка (péška)

References

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *slonъ, possibly a deverbative from Proto-Slavic *sloniti sę (“to lean against”), relating to а medieval story of а sleeping elephant who leaned against a tree. According to some other sources, it's related to the Turkish arslan (“lion”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slôn/

Noun

сло̏н m (Latin spelling slȍn)

1. elephant

Declension

Further reading

• “слон” in Hrvatski jezični portal

Ukrainian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *slonъ, possibly a deverbative from Proto-Slavic *sloniti sę (“to lean against”), relating to а medieval story of а sleeping elephant who leaned against a tree. According to some other sources, it's related to the Turkish arslan (“lion”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

слон • (slon) m animal (genitive слона́, nominative plural слони́, genitive plural слоні́в, feminine слони́ха, relational adjective слоно́вий or слоня́чий, diminutive слоне́ня or слоня́)

1. elephant

   Synonyms: слін (slin), елефант (elefant)

2. (chess) bishop

Declension

See also

Chess pieces in Ukrainian · шахові фігури (šaxovi fihury) (layout · text)
король (korolʹ)	ферзь (ferzʹ)	тура (tura)	слон (slon)	кінь (kinʹ)	пішак (pišak)

References

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