Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/tъrgъ

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.

Of unclear origin. According to some, connected with the word *toržìti (“to seek, look for”), cf Serbo-Croatian trážiti (“to trace”) from Proto-Slavic *tragъ, from Proto-Indo-European *tregʰ-, a variation of *dʰregʰ- (“to pull, draw, drag”). Cognates include Latin trahō and Old Irish traig (“foot”). For a semantic parallel compare Hungarian keres (“to seek, look for”) : kereskedelem (“trade, commerce”).

The Latin place-name Tergeste (whence Italian Trieste), first attested around 100 BC (by the Greek geographer Artemidorus of Ephesus), possibly from Venetic, but with the typically Balkan suffix -est-, has often been derived from a *terg- which is speculated to mean "market" or "marketplace" and to be cognate with the Slavic lexeme.

*tъ̑rgъ m

1. merchandise, commodity, wares
2. (by extension) a place where trade is being done; market

• *tъrgovati
• *tъrgovьcь
• *tъrgovišče
• *tъržišče

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: търгъ (tŭrgŭ)
    • Belarusian: торг (torh)
    • Russian: торг (torg)
    • Ukrainian: торг (torh)
    • → Estonian: turg
    • → Finnish: turku
    • →? Ingrian: turu
    • → Latvian: tirgus
    • → Lithuanian: tur̃gus
    • → Old Norse: torg (“market”)
      • Danish: torv
      • Faroese: torg
      • Icelandic: torg
      • Norwegian: torg
      • Swedish: torg
      • → Finnish: tori
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Cyrillic: тръгъ (trŭgŭ)

    Glagolitic: ⱅⱃⱏⰳⱏ (trŭgŭ)

  • Bulgarian: търг (tǎrg)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: тр̏г

    Latin script: tȑg

  • Slovene: tȓg (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: trh
    • Czech: trh
  • Kashubian: tôrg
  • Old Polish: targ
    • Polish: targ
  • Slovak: trh
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: torhośćo
• Non-Slavic:
  • → Romanian: târg

• Gluhak, Alemko (1993) “Proto-Slavic/tъrgъ”, in Hrvatski etimološki rječnik [Croatian Etymology Dictionary] (in Serbo-Croatian), Zagreb: August Cesarec, →ISBN, page 637
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “торг”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Verweij, Arno (1994) “Quantity Patterns of Substantives in Czech and Slovak”, in Dutch Contributions to the Eleventh International Congress of Slavists, Bratislava (Studies in Slavic and General Linguistics)‎, volume 22, Editions Rodopi B.V., page 536