Inherited from Proto-Balto-Slavic *aśilos, *aśelos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-i-l-o- or *h₂eḱ-l-, from the root *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”).
*os(ь)la f
singular | dual | plural | |
---|---|---|---|
nominative | *os(ь)la | *os(ь)lě | *os(ь)ly |
genitive | *os(ь)ly | *os(ь)lu | *os(ь)lъ |
dative | *os(ь)lě | *os(ь)lama | *os(ь)lamъ |
accusative | *os(ь)lǫ | *os(ь)lě | *os(ь)ly |
instrumental | *os(ь)lojǫ, *os(ь)lǫ** | *os(ь)lama | *os(ь)lami |
locative | *os(ь)lě | *os(ь)lu | *os(ь)lasъ, *os(ь)laxъ* |
vocative | *os(ь)lo | *os(ь)lě | *os(ь)ly |
* -asъ is the expected Balto-Slavic form but is found only in some Old Czech documents; -axъ is found everywhere else and is formed by analogy with other locative plurals in -xъ.
** The second form occurs in languages that contract early across /j/ (e.g. Czech), while the first form occurs in languages that do not (e.g. Russian).