Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/toporъ

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.

Picture dictionary

*obuxъ

*bordy

*ostrьje

*černъ

*sěčivo *toporъ

Possible origin:

• Per Brückner, Trubačev, Meillet, Miklošič: Borrowed from Iranian language (Old Persian *tapara-).
  • Per Zaliznyak, Martynov: Iranian *tapara is metathesized from *parata, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *paraćúš. Related to Ossetian фӕрӕт (færæt, “axe”), Tocharian B peret (“axe”). See also Chuvash пуртӑ (purt̬ă, “axe”) and Bashkir балта (balta, “axe”), Turkic balta (>? Russian балта (balta), ?балда (balda)).
  • Related to Middle Persian (tabrak), modern Persian تبر (tabar), Northern Kurdish tevir / Central Kurdish ته‌ڤر (tevir), Baluchi (tapar), Eastern Mari товар (tovar), Even тобар (toʙar), Tat тевер and Old Armenian / Armenian տապար (tapar).
• Per Mladenov, Vasmer, Chernykh, Snoj: somehow from *teti (“to beat”), *tepetь. Compare Russian тёпать (tjópatʹ, “тяпать, рубить топором, сечкой”), see also тяпка (tjapka, “hoe”), тяп (tjap, “удар топором, сечкой”).
  • From some o-grade noun/verb +‎ *-orъ. Compare Czech sochor < *soxa, *kosorъ/*kosořь (: *koserъ/*kosěrъ, *kosyřь?, *kosařь) < *kosa / ?*kositi, *stoborъ < *stebʰ-.
  • Compare *čekanъ/*čakanъ < Proto-Common Turkic *čak- (“to strike”) (> Hungarian csákány (“pickaxe”)), Old Irish bïáil (“axe, hatchet”), Proto-Germanic *bilją (“blade; axe; sword”) < *bʰeyH- (“to strike, beat; hew”) / *bʰeyh₂- (> *bidlo).
• Per Зубатый: related to *topati (onomatopoeia), *tъpъtati (<? *(s)tewp-) and possibly Ukrainian тепорити (teporyty, “to drag, to tug”) (: ?Russian тепсти (tepsti, “тянуть, тащить, везти с усилием”)).

Compare *sekyra (“axe”) : ?*sěťi (“to cut, mow”) (> *sěčivo, *dervosěkъ, *drъvosěkъ), *tesla (“adze”) : *tesati (“to hew”) and *oskъrdъ < *(s)kérdʰh₁eti (“to cut”), *bordy <? Proto-Germanic *bardō < ?, *okъša? < Proto-Germanic *akwisī (“axe”). See also *tęti, *drъvotonь (“wood-cutting place”), *kolti, *rǫbiti : ?*remeslo.

*topòrъ m

1. axe, hatchet

   Synonym: *sekyra

• *toporišče (“axe pole”)

• *tepadlo, *tepadlьnikъ (“bat, beater”)

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: топоръ (toporŭ)
    • Old Ruthenian: топо́ръ (topór)
      • Belarusian: тапо́р (tapór)
      • Ukrainian: топі́р (topír)
    • Russian: топо́р (topór)
    • → Finnish: tappara (“axe”)
    • →⇒ Old Norse: taparøx (“battle-ax, small axe”)
      • → Old English: taporæx (“hatchet (securis parvula)”)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:
    • Bulgarian: топо́р (topór)
    • Church Slavonic: топоръ (toporŭ) (Russian)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: то̏пор

    Latin script: tȍpor

  • Slovene: tópor; tôpor (obsolete)
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: topor
  • Polish: topór
  • Slovak: topor
  • Sorbian:
    • ⇒ Lower Sorbian: toporišćo
    • Upper Sorbian: toporo

• → Aromanian: tãpor
• → Romanian: topor

• Melnychuk, O. S., editor (2006), “топір”, in Етимологічний словник української мови (in Ukrainian), volume 5 (Р – Т), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, →ISBN, page 599
• Chernykh, P. Ja. (1999) “топор”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка (in Russian), 3rd edition, volume 2 (панцирь – ящур), Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 250
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “топор”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка (in Russian), Moscow: Progress