< Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic
Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/kъňiga
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This Proto-Slavic entry contains reconstructed words 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
There are four theories about its origin:
- Either borrowed from Old High German kenning (“symbol, sign”) or from a different Germanic source (compare Gothic 𐌺𐌿𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (kunnan, “to know”) and Old Norse kunna (“to know”)).
- Alternatively, from Akkadian 𒁾 (kunukku, “seal-cylinder, kunukku”) or 𒅎𒋃𒊒𒊒𒁀 (kanīku, “sealed object: document, sack bulla, etc.”), via Old Armenian կնիք (knikʿ, “seal”).
- An ultimate Chinese origin, from 卷 (Middle Chinese kɣiuᴇnX, kɣiuᴇnH < Old Chinese *krorʔ (“to roll up”), *kror-s (“scroll”)), has also been suggested, as paper was invented in China in about the 1st century AD. However this seems less likely, due to the likely temporal precedence of Proto-Slavic over Early Middle Chinese and the large spatial separation of the donor and recipient languages.
- Finally, Polish Slavicist Aleksander Brückner considers it to be a native word derived from Proto-Slavic *kъnъ (“trunk of a tree”) with the suffix -iga (compare Slovene veriga (“chain”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“tie”)). The sense development would thus be similar to German Buch and English book, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂ǵos (“beech”), or to Latin liber, from earlier *luber, a cognate of Proto-Slavic *lubъ (“tree bark”).
Second and third theory require transmission by a Turkic or an Iranian language, but it is not attested in them. Although sometimes cited, Chuvash кӗнеке (kĕneke) and Ossetian чиныг (ḱinyg), киунугӕ (kiwnugæ) are both considered early Slavic loans.
However, Hungarian könyv (“book”) and Erzya конёв (konjov, “paper”), which are unlikely to derive from Slavic, testify to early presence of this word in the Volga region.
Declension
Declension of *kъňìga (hard a-stem, accent paradigm a)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *kъňìga | *kъňìdzě | *kъňìgy |
| Accusative | *kъňìgǫ | *kъňìdzě | *kъňìgy |
| Genitive | *kъňìgy | *kъňìgu | *kъňìgъ |
| Locative | *kъňìdzě | *kъňìgu | *kъňìgasъ, *kъňìgaxъ* |
| Dative | *kъňìdzě | *kъňìgama | *kъňìgamъ |
| Instrumental | *kъňìgojǫ, *kъňìgǭ** | *kъňìgama | *kъňìgamī |
| Vocative | *kъňìgo | *kъňìdzě | *kъňìgy |
* -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).
** 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).
Descendants
Further reading
- Abajev, V. I. (1958) Istoriko-etimologičeskij slovarʹ osetinskovo jazyka [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Ossetian Language] (in Russian), volume 1, Moscow, Leningrad: USSR Academy of Sciences, page 596
- Ačaṙean, Hračʿeay (1971–1979), “կնիք”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Dictionary of Armenian Root Words] (in Armenian), volume 2, 2nd edition, reprint of the original 1926–1935 seven-volume edition, Yerevan: University Press, page 609
- Berneker, Erich (1908–1913) Slavisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume I, Heidelberg: Winter, page 664
- Černyx, P. Ja. (1999), “книга”, in Istoriko-etimologičeskij slovarʹ russkovo jazyka [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), volume 1, 3rd reprint edition, Moscow: Russkij jazyk, page 406
- Matzenauer, Antonín (1870) Cizí slova ve slovanských řečech [Foreign words in Slavic languages] (in Czech), Brno: Matica Moravská, page 43
- Cyganenko, G. B. (1989), “книга”, in Etimologičeskij slovarʹ russkovo jazyka [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), 2nd edition, Kiev: Radjansʹka škola, page 179–180
- Vasmer (Fasmer), Max (Maks) (1964–1973), “книга”, in Etimologičeskij slovarʹ russkovo jazyka [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), translated from German and supplemented by Trubačóv Oleg, Moscow: Progress
- Trubačóv, Oleg, editor (1987), “*kъniga”, in Etimologičeskij slovarʹ slavjanskix jazykov [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), volume 13, Moscow: Nauka, page 203
References
- Olander, Thomas (2001), “kъnjiga”, in Common Slavic accentological word list, Copenhagen: Editiones Olander: “a (SA 172, 187; PR 132)”
- Snoj, Marko (2016), “knjíga”, in Slovenski etimološki slovar, Ljubljana: Inštitut za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, →ISBN: “*kъni̋ga”
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