Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/medvědь

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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.

Proto-Slavic

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *medwḗˀdis (originally probably a consonant stem *medwēˀd-, later reformed into an i-stem based on the accusative in *-in, as typical in Balto-Slavic), equivalent to *medъ (honey) +‎ *(j)ěsti (to eat), hence literally the epithet "honey-eater". Cognate with Sanskrit मध्वद् (madhv-ád-, eating sweetness) (RV I 164,22). Presumably came into use as taboo avoidance of an earlier word, possibly something like *rьstъ (compare Lithuanian irštvà (bear's den), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ŕ̥tḱos). Similar proposed examples of linguistic taboo for 'bear' are Proto-Germanic *berô (the brown one), Latvian lācis (stomper, pounder), Sanskrit भल्ल (bhalla) and Old Irish math (the good one).

There is a false etymology from *medъ and *věděti (to know, to manage), hence "one who knows honey" or "honey master".

Noun

*medvě̀dь m[1][2]

  1. bear

Declension

Reconstructed as a jo-stem in Derksen 2008, since no descendants reflect an i-stem. But may have originally been an i-stem based on the lack of iotation of the final *d.

Descendants

  • Non-Slavic:

Further reading

  • Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1992), “*medvědь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 18 (*matoga – *mękyšьka), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 65
  • Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1986), “медве́д”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 3 (крес¹ – мѝнго¹), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, page 710
  • Chernykh, P. Ja. (1993) “медве́дь”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), 3rd edition, volume 1 (а – пантомима), Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 519
  • Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “медве́дь”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress

References

  1. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008) “*medvě̀dь”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 306:m. jo (a) ‘bear’
  2. ^ Olander, Thomas (2001) “medvědь”, in Common Slavic Accentological Word List, Copenhagen: Editiones Olander:a (PR 132)