Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/Sъvarogъ

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.

Probably from earlier *sъvarògъ ("fire"), from *sъvarъ (“heat”) +‎ *-ogъ.^[1] After Christianization, the word сва́рог (svárog) has been preserved in the Russian Novgorod dialect meaning "fire; blacksmith", and "grasshopper",^[2] the latter meaning compare with modern Common Russian кузнечик (kuznečik, “grasshopper”, literally “little blacksmith”) (see also dial. сварожина (svarožina, “grasshopper”)). The word was also borrowed into Romanian dialectal sfarog (“dried or burnt food”) from a South Slavic source reconstructed as *сварогъ (*svarog), probably Bulgarian.^[3]

Per Brückner, from *svarъ (“trouble, quarrel”) +‎ *-ogъ with literal meaning “the fire arguer” (Polish ogień-kłótnik).^[4] However, in Slavic languages such a derivation is not attested.

In the past, the stem *svar- was thought to be borrowing from Indo-Iranian word for sun, sky, cf. Sanskrit स्वर् (svar), Avestan 𐬵𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆 (huuar^ə), Classical Persian خور (xwar), but this etymology cannot be accepted for phonetic and geographical reasons. It is also unclear why the Slavs would borrow the word for sun from the Indo-Iranians, which had no religious connotations, although they did not borrow the word for sun from other, neighboring peoples.

*Sъvarògъ m^[1]

1. Svarog

• *Sъvarožiťь

• *sъvariti (“to weld together”)

• South Slavic:
  • Church Slavonic: *Съварогъ (*Sŭvarogŭ) (Russian recension)
    • → Old East Slavic: Сварогъ (Svarogŭ) (learned)
      • Belarusian: Сваро́г (Svaróh)
      • Russian: Сваро́г (Svaróg)
      • Ukrainian: Сваро́г (Svaróh); Со́варог (Sóvaroh) (dialectal)
      • → Bulgarian: Сварог (Svarog) (learned)
      • → Czech: Svarog, Svaroh (learned) (learned)
      • → Kashubian: Swarog (learned)
      • → Macedonian: Сварог (Svarog) (learned)
      • → Polish: Swaróg (learned)
      • → Serbo-Croatian: (learned)

        Cyrillic script: Сварог

        Latin script: Svarog

      • → Slovak: Svarog (learned)
      • → Slovene: Svarog (learned)
  • Old Bulgarian: *Сва́рогъ (*Svárog, proper noun)
    • ⇒ Bulgarian: Сва́рог (Svárog, econym), Сва́рошка бара (Svároška bara, oronym)
      • → Romanian: sfarog (dialectal, rare)
• West Slavic:
  • ⇒ Czech: Svaroh (oronym)
  • ⇒ Old Sorbian: Zwarogk (oronym)

• Non-Slavic:
  • → German: Svarog (learned)
  • → Greek: Σβαρόγ (Svaróg) (learned)
  • → English: Svarog (learned)
  • → Spanish: Svarog (learned)
  • → French: Svarog (learned)
  • → Hebrew: סבארוג (learned)
  • → Japanese: スヴァローグ (learned)

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “Сваро́г”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Melnychuk, O. S., editor (2006), “Сваро́г”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), volume 5 (Р – Т), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, →ISBN, page 186
• Racheva, M., Todorov, T. A., editors (2002), “Сваро́г”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 6 (пỳскам – словàр²), Sofia: Prof. Marin Drinov Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 534