Reconstruction talk:Proto-Slavic/agnьcь

Russian а́гнец has "ecclesiastical" attached, per Vasmer. Does that mean that the word is not recorded in vernacular speech, and that we're dealing with Church Slavonic borrowing? --Ivan Štambuk (talk) 07:20, 1 November 2013 (UTC)

Yes, it's ecclesiastical, e.g. "А́гнец Бо́жий" - the Lamb of God. It's used in modern Russian but in the sense of "a meek, innocent, saint person", "a sheep" (often ironically or sarcastically) or in comparisons "как а́гнец" (like a saint, like an (innocent) sheep), "прики́нуться а́гнцем" - to feign meekness, to play the innocent. --Anatoli ^{(обсудить}/^вклад) 08:00, 1 November 2013 (UTC)

In Serbo-Croatianj jaganjac has the same extended meaning, beside the normal "lamb". ESSJa lists neither Russian nor OESl word as a cognate, which renders it suspect, and I wonder whether that extended meaning derives from ecclesiastical usage. Formally it's impossible to tell whether the word is inherited from Common Slavic, or an early Church Slavicism, but semantic divergence might be a clue. --Ivan Štambuk (talk) 09:19, 1 November 2013 (UTC)

I'm not sure if I can help then. The term "агнец" is still in use but not in the original sense. Unlike Polish, Czech, etc. in "Агнец Божий", "агнец" cannot be replaced with modern "ягнёнок" or "бара́шек". It is quite likely it was borrowed from CU via OES and may have never meant an animal in Russian. --Anatoli ^{(обсудить}/^вклад) 09:31, 1 November 2013 (UTC)

I mean, of course, I can say about the modern usage and meanings but may not help with etymologies. --Anatoli ^{(обсудить}/^вклад) 11:51, 1 November 2013 (UTC)

I understand. Let it stay for now as if inherited, unless sources surface claiming otherwise. --Ivan Štambuk (talk) 13:15, 1 November 2013 (UTC)