Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/volsъ

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

• (i-stem): *vȏlsь

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *válśas, *válśis, from Proto-Indo-European *wolḱos, *wolḱis, from the root *wel- (“hair; wool”). Cognate with Sanskrit वल्श (válśa, “twig, sprout”), Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬯𐬀 (var^əsa, “hair (on the head)”), Old Persian [script needed] (vars), Persian گرس (gurs, “curled hair”), Northern Kurdish pirç (“hair”) and Lithuanian valaĩ. Akin to Old Armenian վարս (vars), an Iranian borrowing.

Noun

*vȏlsъ m

1. hair (pigmented filament)

   Synonym: *voldь

Inflection

Declension of *vȏlsъ (hard o-stem, accent paradigm c)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*vȏlsъ	*vȏlsa	*vȏlsi
genitive	*vȏlsa	*volsù	*võlsъ
dative	*vȏlsu	*volsomà	*volsòmъ
accusative	*vȏlsъ	*vȏlsa	*vȏlsy
instrumental	*vȏlsъmь, *vȏlsomь*	*volsomà	*volsý
locative	*vȏlsě	*volsù	*volsě̃xъ
vocative	*volse	*vȏlsa	*vȏlsi

^* -ъmь in North Slavic, -omь in South Slavic.

See also

• *voltь

Related terms

• *volkno (“fibre”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: волосъ (volosŭ)
    • Old Ruthenian: волосъ (volos)
      • Belarusian: во́лас (vólas)
      • Ukrainian: во́лос (vólos)
    • Russian: во́лос (vólos)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: власъ (vlasŭ)

    Glagolitic script: ⰲⰾⰰⱄⱏ (vlasŭ)

    • → Russian: влас (vlas) (archaic or poetic)
  • Bulgarian: влас (vlas)
  • Macedonian: влас (vlas)
  • Serbo-Croatian: vlȃs, вла̑с
  • Slovene: lȃs (tonal orthography) (singular and dual only)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: vlas
    • Czech: vlas
      • Bohemian : vlas
  • Kashubian: włos
  • Old Polish: włos
    • Polish: włos
  • Slovak: vlas
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: włós
    • Lower Sorbian: włos

References

• Gluhak, Alemko (1993) “Proto-Slavic/volsъ”, in Hrvatski etimološki rječnik [Croatian Etymology Dictionary] (in Serbo-Croatian), Zagreb: August Cesarec, →ISBN
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “волос”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Derksen, Rick (2008) “*volsъ”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 526

Further reading

• В. В. Мартынов (1981) “Балто-славяно-иранские языковые отношения и глоттогенез славян: kosa – volsъ 'волос человека (на голове)'.”, in Балто-славянские исследования. 1980., Moscow: Nauka, page 23