Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/ežь

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

*ežь (Erinaceus concolor)

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *eźias, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰis (“hedgehog”). Compare with *ǵʰḗr.

Baltic cognates include Lithuanian ežys, regional ẽżis and Latvian ezis. Other Indo-European cognates include (read ), Ancient Greek ἐχῖνος (ekhînos), Old English igil (English ile), Old High German igil (German Igel), Old Armenian ոզնի (ozni), Old Norse ígull, Ossetian уызын (wyzyn), Albanian eshk.

Noun

*ežь m

1. hedgehog

Declension

Declension of *ežь (soft o-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*ežь	*eža	*eži
genitive	*eža	*ežu	*ežь
dative	*ežu	*ežema	*ežemъ
accusative	*ežь	*eža	*ežę̇
instrumental	*ežьmь, *ežemь*	*ežema	*eži
locative	*eži	*ežu	*ežixъ
vocative	*ežu	*eža	*eži

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

Derived terms

• *ežakъ, *ežikъ (diminutive)
• *eževъ(jь)
  • *eževica, *eževika
  • *eževina
• *ežica, *ežika
• *ežina
• *ežiti (sę)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: ожь (ožĭ), ежь (ežĭ, “hedgehog, porcupine”)
    • Middle Russian: е́жъ (éž); іожъ (jož) (1700s)
      • Russian: ёж (jož)
    • Old Ruthenian: єжь (ež), ѣжь (již)
      • Ukrainian: ож (ož), іж (iž), йіж (již), іжо́ n (ižó), їжо́ n (jižó) (dialectal)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:
    • Church Slavonic: ѥжь (ježĭ) (Serbian)
  • Bulgarian: еж (ež); еш (eš) (dialectal)
    • ⇒ Bulgarian: таралеж (taralež)
  • Macedonian: еж (ež)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: је̑ж; је̑жа (dialectal)

    Latin script: jȇž; jȇža (dialectal)

  • Slovene: jẹ̄ž
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: jež (dialectal)
  • Kashubian: jéż
  • Polabian: jiz
  • Old Polish: jeż
    • Polish: jeż; wież, wjiż (dialectal)
  • Slovak: jež
  • Slovincian: jěi̯ž
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: jaž, jež
    • Upper Sorbian: jěž

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1979), “*ežь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 6 (*e – *golva), Moscow: Nauka, page 37
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “ёж”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1985), “їж”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), volume 2 (Д – Копці), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, page 323