Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/kopriva

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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.

Proto-Slavic

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*koprivaUrtica dioica

Etymology

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By surface *koprъ (dill) +‎ *-ivъ +‎ *-a, probably from the original sense steaming, scalding found in the root *kopněti (to melt (for snow), to hope), *kypěti (to boil up), because of the burning feel on the human skin on touch of this plant. For similar semantic development, compare dial. Czech žeřica (nettle) (from Proto-Slavic *žarъ (embers)), German Brennnessel (nettle) (from German brennen (to burn)), Dutch brandnetel from branden (to burn), Latin ūrtīca from ūrere (to burn). Unlikely from the sense aroma applied in *koprъ and attested in the related lemmas Lithuanian kvãpas (aroma), Lithuanian kvėpti (to smell, to breath), since nettle does not have any particular smell.

A secondary reason of the relation to *koprъ (dill) may be the use of both as a food supplement.

The form *kropiva to which some forms point is modelled after *kropiti (to besprinkle) conceiving the crop’s conspicuous manner of distribution.

Noun

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*kopriva f

  1. stinging nettle

Alternative forms

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Inflection

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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Further reading

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  • Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1984), “*kopriva”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 11 (*konьcь – *kotьna(ja)), Moscow: Nauka, page 25
  • Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1979), “коприва, покрива”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 2 (и – крепя̀), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, page 619