Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/žestokъ

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.

Extended from an earlier *žestъ +‎ *-okъ, parallel to *žestъkъ (k-extended u-stem). Further origin uncertain.

Mladenov, Iljinsky considered relation with Latin hostis (“enemy”) (meaning developed from an original “guest” → “foreigner, stranger” → “foe”), Sanskrit घसति (ghásati, “to eat, to nurish”) from Proto-Indo-European *gʰes- (“to host”), which nowadays is usually rejected for semantic reasons. Skok tentatively proposes derivation from Proto-Slavic *žegťi (“to heat up”) (probably on account of the Serbo-Croatian meaning “bitter, sour”), which is phonotactically dubious. Per Vasmer, more likely akin to Old Norse kǫs f (“heap, pile”), Old High German kes n (“(mountain) glacier”) or perhaps Irish gallán (“pillar, stone”) < *gaslā.

*žestòkъ^[1]

1. stern, hard, stiff, rigid (for material)
2. (in Serbo-Croatian) bitter, sour (for taste)

   Synonyms: *syrъ, *surovъ, *gorьkъ

3. (figurative) cruel, fierce, harsh, severe (for personality, behavior, attitude)

Accent paradigm C

• *оžestočiti/*оžestočati, *užestočiti (“to harden, to make severe”)
• *žestokostь (“cruelty”)

• *žestъ, *žestъkъ (“rigid”)
• *žestь, *žestina (“rigidity, stiffness”)

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: жестокъ (žestokŭ)
    • Belarusian: жасто́кі (žastóki)
    • Russian: жесто́кий (žestókij)
    • Ukrainian: жорсто́кий (žorstókyj)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic: жестокъ (žestokŭ)
  • Bulgarian: жесто́к (žestók)
  • Macedonian: жесток (žestok)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: же̏сток (“bitter, sour, cruel”)

    Latin script: žȅstok (“sour, severe, savage”)

  • Slovene: žestòk (“savage, evil”) (tonal orthography)
• Non-Slavic:
  • → Romanian: jestoc

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “жестокий”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “жесто̀к”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 538