Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/-mę

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

Alternative forms

• *-smę (possibly in *čismę, *pismę)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Balto-Slavic *-men, *-min, from Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥.

Cognate with Old Prussian -men, Lithuanian -muõ.

Suffix

*-mę n

1. Deverbal, what is being/to-be/became

   *znamę (“sign”) ⇐ *znati (“to know”)

   *sěmę (“seed”) : *sějati (“to sow”), *sějetь

   *vermę ⇐ **versti (⇒ *verteno, *vortъ) : *vьrtěti (“to turn”)

   *bermę (“load, burden”) ⇐ *bьrati (“to take, *carry”), *beretь,

   *plemę (“tribe”) ⇐ **pledmę ⇐ **plesti (“?”) (⇒ *plodъ (“fruit”))

   *čismę (“number”) ⇐ **čitsmę / **čitmę ⇐ *čisti (“count”), *čьtetь

   *pismę ⇐ *pisati / *pьsati, *pišetь

2. Denominal, secondary or alternative

   *vymę (“udder”) ⇐ Proto-Indo-European *h₁ówHdʰr̥ n (“udder”)

   *ormę / *ormo

   *pasmę / *pasmo

   *polmę / *polmy m

Declension

Declension of *-mę (n-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*-mę	*-meni	*-mena
genitive	*-mene	*-menu	*-menъ
dative	*-meni	*-menьma	*-menьmъ
accusative	*-mę	*-meni	*-mena
instrumental	*-menьmь	*-menьma	*-meny
locative	*-mene	*-menu	*-menьxъ
vocative	*-mę	*-meni	*-mena

See also

• *-my m
• *-ьma, *-ьmo
• *-mъ (“present passive participle”)
• *-ъmь / *-omь (“o-stem instrumental”)
• *-ьmi (“i-stem instrumental”)

Derived terms

Proto-Slavic terms suffixed with *-mę

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: -мѧ (-mę), -мꙗ (-mja)
    • Old Ruthenian: -мѧ (-mja), -мꙗ (-mja)
      • Belarusian: -мя (-mja), -ме (-mje)
      • Ukrainian: -м'я (-mʺja), -мя (-mja)
    • Middle Russian: -мѧ (-mja), -мꙗ (-mja)
      • Russian: -мя (-mja)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: -мѧ (-mę)

    Glagolitic script: -ⰿⱔ (-mę)

  • Bulgarian: -ме (-me)
  • Macedonian: -ме (-me)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: -ме, -мен

    Latin script: -me, -men

  • Slovene: -me
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: -mě
    • Czech: -mě, -meno
  • Kashubian: -miã
  • Polabian: -mą
  • Old Polish: -mię
    • Polish: -mię
    • Silesian: -miã
  • Slovak: -mä, -meno
  • Slovincian: -me
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: -mje
    • Upper Sorbian: -mjo

Further reading

• Саенко, М. Н. (2019) “Периодизация истории праславянского субстантивного склонения [Periodization of the history of the Proto-Slavic noun declension]”, in Балто-славянские исследования, volume 20, Moscow, →DOI, page 113
• Herbert Bräuer (1969) “Die n-Stämme”, in Slavische Sprachwissenschaft: Formenlehre, volume 3, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter & Co, page 23
• Miklosich, Fr. (1875) “116. Suffix men”, in Vergleichende grammatik der slavischen sprachen: Stammbildungslehre, volume 2, Wien: Wilhelm Braumüller, page 236