Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/koňь

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

Etymology

There are two theories about its origin:

• (Vasmer, Skok, Długosz-Kurczabowa, Holub/Kopečný): from *komňь (cf. Old East Slavic комонь (komonĭ, “horse”)), from early *kobňь, akin to *kobyla (“mare”). Compare Latin caballus (“working horse”), Proto-Celtic *kapallos (> Old Irish capall).
• (Brückner, Długosz-Kurczabowa): from *komňь (cf. Old East Slavic комонь (komonĭ, “horse”)), related to Polish komosić (“make wild, enrage”) cognate with Lithuanian kumelė (“mare”), Old Prussian kamnet (“horse”). (Note, however, that komosić does not seem to exist in East or South Slavic and therefore probably is not very old and that Skok explains the similar verbs komešati (“stir, mix”) and kovitlati (“gyrate, form an eddy”) with a prefix *ko-.)

Noun

*kòňь m

1. horse

   Synonym: *komoňь

Declension

Declension of *kòňь (soft o-stem, accent paradigm b)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*kòňь	*koňà	*koňì
genitive	*koňà	*koňù	*kòňь
dative	*koňù	*koňèma	*kòňemъ
accusative	*kòňь	*koňà	*koňę̇̀
instrumental	*koňь̀mь, *koňèmь*	*koňèma	*kòňi
locative	*koňì	*koňù	*kòňixъ
vocative	*koňu	*koňà	*koňì

^* -ьmь in North Slavic, -emь in South Slavic.

Related terms

• *komoňь (possibly)

Derived terms

• *konьnъ (“equine”)
• *konьskъ (“horsy”)
• *konьnikъ (“knight”)
• *konьnica (“cavalry”)
• *koňušьna (“stable”)
• *koňarь (“stableman, syce”)
• *koňevodъ (“horse herder”)
• *koňekradъ (“horse thief”)
• *konotopъ (“swamp”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: конь (konĭ)
    • Old Ruthenian: конь (konʹ), кѡнь (kônʹ), кунь (kunʹ)
      • Belarusian: конь (konʹ)
      • Carpathian Rusyn: кӱнь (künʹ)
      • Ukrainian: кінь (kinʹ); кунь (kunʹ) (dialectal)
    • Russian: конь (konʹ)
  • Old Novgorodian: коне (kone)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: кон҄ь (konʹĭ)

    Glagolitic script: ⰽⱁⱀⱐ (konĭ)

  • Bulgarian: кон (kon)
  • Macedonian: коњ (konj)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: ко̏њ

    Latin script: kȍnj

    • Slavomolisano: konj
  • Slovene: kȍnj (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: kóň
    • Czech: kůň
  • Old Polish: koń
    • Masurian: kóń
    • Polish: koń
    • Silesian: kōń
  • Slovak: kôň
  • Polabian: ťün
  • Pomeranian:
    • Kashubian: kóń
    • Slovincian: kóń
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: kóń
    • Upper Sorbian: kóń

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “конь”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1983), “*konь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 10 (*klepačь – *konь), Moscow: Nauka, page 197
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1979), “кон¹”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volumes 2 (и – крепя̀), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, page 578