хѣрь

Old Novgorodian

Etymology

First attested in c. 1360–1380. Inherited from Proto-Slavic *śěrь, from *śěrъ (from an earlier pre-palatalized form *xěr-). The most important feature of Old Novgorodian and Old Pskovian is the absence of the second palatalization of the velar *k, *g, *x in the position before *ě and *i, which were only softened to [kʲ], [ɡʲ], [xʲ]. By surface analysis, *хѣре (*xěre) +‎ -ь (-ĭ).

Cognates include Old Czech šěř, Czech šer (“grey cloth, linsey-woolsey, pathetic clothes”).

It was mistakenly assumed to be borrowed from Middle Low German gêre, gere, gir (“wedge-shaped piece of cloth”).

Noun

хѣрь • (xěrĭ) f

1. grey cloth, linsey-woolsey

   Synonym: водмоле (vodmole)

   • c. 1360‒1380, Берестяная грамота № 130 [Birchbark letter no. 130]‎^[1], Novgorod:

     у вигарѧ :к҃: локото хѣри беꙁо локти у валита в кюлолакши :і҃:д҃: локти хѣри у ваиваса у ваѧкшина :і҃в҃: локти водмолу и поло третиѧ нацате локти хѣри у мѣлита в куролѣ :д҃: локти хѣри

     u vigarę 20 lokoto xěri bezo lokti u valita v kjulolakši 10d:: lokti xěri u vaivasa u vajękšina :i:v:: lokti vodmolu i polo tretiję nacʹate lokti xěri u mělita v kurolě 4 lokti xěri

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

Declension of хѣрь (i-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	хѣрь xěrĭ	хѣри xěri	хѣри xěri
genitive	хѣри xěri	хѣрью xěrĭju	хѣрьи xěrĭi
dative	хѣри xěri	хѣрьма xěrĭma	хѣрьмъ xěrĭmŭ
accusative	хѣрь xěrĭ	хѣри xěri	хѣри xěri
instrumental	хѣрьѭ xěrĭjǫ	хѣрьма xěrĭma	хѣрьми xěrĭmi
locative	хѣри xěri	хѣрью xěrĭju	хѣрьхъ xěrĭxŭ
vocative	хѣри xěri	хѣри xěri	хѣрьѥ xěrĭje

Related terms

adjectives

• *хѣде (*xěde, “grey”)
• *хѣре (*xěre, “grey”)

Further reading

• “хѣрь”, in Birchbark Letters Corpus, 2003–2026