Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/suka

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

*suka i *ščenęta

Alternative reconstructions

• *sǫ̀ka

Etymology

Unknown. There are several proposals:

• from Proto-Indo-European *ḱowk-eh₂ (literally “she who howls”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewk- (“to cry, shout, howl”)
• from Proto-Indo-European *sewH- (“to give birth”) with original meaning “female”, possibly with suffix *-ka, compare Czech fena (“bitch”), from French femme (“woman”)

Less likely related to *cu (interjection, used to call out the dogs) > *cucьkъ (“dog”). Borrowing from Old Persian *𐏂𐎣 (*çaka-) (see Persian سگ (sag)) is also unlikely.

For the suffix *-(ъ)ka, *-(ь)ka forming female animal names cf. *aščerъka, *kotъka, *lišьka, *jalovъka.

Reconstruction notes

The word is sometimes reconstructed as *sǫka, but most linguists reject this (Polish *sęka, Polabian *sǫko expected). This reconstruction assumes that Polish suka is borrowed from Old Ruthenian *сука (*suka), which is unlikely. Even if the Polish word is a loanword, the Polabian word still clearly indicates *suka.

Noun

*sùka f

1. (North Slavic) bitch (female dog)

Declension

Declension of *sùka (hard a-stem, accent paradigm a)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*sùka	*sùcě	*sùky
genitive	*sùky	*sùku	*sùkъ
dative	*sùcě	*sùkama	*sùkamъ
accusative	*sùkǫ	*sùcě	*sùky
instrumental	*sùkojǫ, *sùkǭ**	*sùkama	*sùkamī
locative	*sùcě	*sùku	*sùkasъ, *sùkaxъ*
vocative	*sùko	*sùcě	*sùky

^* -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).

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: сука (suka)
    • Old Ruthenian: *сука (*suka)
      • Belarusian: су́ка́ (súká)
      • Carpathian Rusyn: су́ка (súka)
      • Ukrainian: су́ка (súka)
    • Russian: су́ка (súka)
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: suka (dialectal, archaic)
  • Old Polish: *suka
    • Polish: suka; sula (17ᵗʰ c.)
    • Silesian: suka
  • Old Slovak: suka
    • Pannonian Rusyn: сука (suka)
    • Slovak: suka
  • Polabian: sau̯ko, sai̯ko
  • Pomeranian:
    • Kashubian: sëka
  • → German: Zauke (dialectal)

• Non-Slavic:
  • → Latvian: suka
  • → Hungarian: szuka
  • → Urum: сука

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “су́ка”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Vasmer, Max (1958) “сука́”, in Russisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch [Russian Etymological Dictionary] (Indogermanische Bibliothek; 2) (in German), volumes 3 (Sta – Ÿ), Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Carl Winter, →ISBN, page 42
• Shaposhnikov, A. K. (2010) “сука”, in Этимологический словарь современного русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Contemporary Russian Language] (in Russian), volumes 2: (Начать – Я), Moscow: Flinta; Nauka, →ISBN, page 394
• Chernykh, P. Ja. (1993) “су́ка”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), 3rd edition, volume 2 (панцирь – ящур), Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 217
• Brückner, Aleksander (1927) “suka”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish), Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna, page 525
• Polański, Kazimierz (1993) “sau̯ko || sai̯ko”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka Drzewian połabskich [Etymological Dictionary of the Polabian Drevani Language] (in Polish), number 5 (sahi – ťüzǝc), Warszawa: Energeia, page 677
• Krylov, G. A. (2004) “сука”, in Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Saint Petersburg: Victory, →ISBN, page 381