ёрш

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ёрш

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Possibly from Proto-Slavic *jerъxь (“something thorny, jagged”), from *(j)erъx-.

Per Vasmer, the original meaning (still found dialectally) was "jagged nail". In the contemporary sense attested since late 15th century.

Cognate with Ukrainian йорж (jorž, “ruffe”). Compare also Russian еро́шить (jeróšitʹ, “to ruffle”), Russian еро́ховый (jeróxovyj, “branchy, gnarly”) (about a tree or wood, dialectal), Lithuanian erškė̃tis, Latvian ẽršk̨is (“thorn”).

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ёрш • (jorš) m anim or m inan (genitive ерша́, nominative plural ерши́, genitive plural ерше́й, diminutive ёршик)

1. ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernua syn. Acerina cernua)
   • 1884, Михаил Салтыков-Щедрин [Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin], Карась-идеалист; English translation from Dorian Rottenberg, transl., The Idealistic Crucian, Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House, (Please provide a date or year):

     Кара́сь с ершо́м спо́рил. Кара́сь говори́л, что мо́жно на све́те одно́ю пра́вдою прожи́ть, а ёрш утвержда́л, что нельзя́ без того́ обойти́сь, чтоб не слука́вить.

     Karásʹ s jeršóm spóril. Karásʹ govoríl, što móžno na svéte odnóju právdoju prožítʹ, a jorš utverždál, što nelʹzjá bez tovó obojtísʹ, štob ne slukávitʹ.

     A crucian and a ruff had an argument. The crucian held that one could make a living honestly, while the ruff insisted that one couldn't avoid being artful.

2. bristle brush, bottle brush
3. go-devil
4. mixture of vodka and beer

• ерши́ться impf (jeršítʹsja)
• ерши́стый (jeršístyj)

• еро́шить impf (jeróšitʹ), взъеро́шить pf (vzʺjeróšitʹ)

• → Ingrian: joršši
• → Kildin Sami: ёаҏҏьш (jår̥r̥’š)

• Kiparsky, Valentin (1975) Russische historische Grammatik. Band III: Entwicklung des Wortschatzes (in German), Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 171
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “ерш”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress