Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/dьrvьňa

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

From a not directly retained *dьrva +‎ *-ьňa inherited from Proto-Balto-Slavic *dirˀwāˀ kept by Latvian dìrva, Lithuanian dirvà (“arable land, field”), further derived from Proto-Indo-European *dérH-uh₂ ~ *dr̥H-wéh₂, from the root Proto-Indo-European *derH- (“to tear, crack”), to which also Sanskrit दूर्वा (dū́rvā, “panic grass”), Proto-West Germanic *taru (“wheat”), Welsh drewg (“darnel”) are put.

For the meaning development from “field” to “village” typologically compare the attested development, without collectivizing suffix *-ьňa making the derivation more straightforward, of Ge'ez ፂኦት (ṣ́iʾot, “low grounds, pasture”, its only meanings) into Arabic ضَيْعَة (ḍayʕa, “pasture; village, hamlet”) and in the end Galician aldea (“village”), Spanish aldea (“village”), Portuguese aldeia (“village”). The reverse shift, the designation of a village from enclosed space instead of from a wide space, is equally known in the languages of the world: Proto-Turkic *āgïl means originally a “pen, fold for cattle”, so usual in Anatolian Turkic, but gives the word for village, aul, in Central Asian Turkic, see it for its descendants. See also Proto-Slavic *gordъ (“town”), derived from Proto-Balto-Slavic *gardas (“enclosure”).

Noun

*dьrvьňa f

1. ploughed field, arable land (after trees were cut) (the original sense, unless the suffigation directly gave the next sense)
2. a peasant's khutor with a plot of land; settlement, village

Inflection

Declension of *dьrvьňa (soft a-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*dьrvьňa	*dьrvьňi	*dьrvьňę̇
genitive	*dьrvьňę̇	*dьrvьňu	*dьrvьňь
dative	*dьrvьňi	*dьrvьňama	*dьrvьňamъ
accusative	*dьrvьňǫ	*dьrvьňi	*dьrvьňę̇
instrumental	*dьrvьňejǫ, *dьrvьňǫ**	*dьrvьňama	*dьrvьňami
locative	*dьrvьňi	*dьrvьňu	*dьrvьňasъ, *dьrvьňaxъ*
vocative	*dьrvьňe	*dьrvьňi	*dьrvьňę̇

^* -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).

Related terms

• *derti (“to tear”)
• *dorъ (“cleansed land”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Belarusian: дзярэ́ўня (dzjaréŭnja, “village”) (rare)
  • Russian: дере́вня (derévnja, “village”)
  • Ukrainian: дере́вня (derévnja, “forest used for construction”)
  • → Polish: derewnia (“village”)

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “дере́вня”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress