Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/-ikъ
Proto-Slavic
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Cognate with Latvian -ieks (< -eikas). The *-i in *-ikъ thus reflects a diphthong *ey, which explains the lack of the third palatalization. Lithuanian -ykas reflects earlier -inīkas, and is not a cognate. Probably not related to Sanskrit -ईक (-īká) and Latin -īco.
Suffix
*-ikъ m
- Denominal, forming diminutives.
- Deadjectival, denoting a carrier of a property.
Declension
Declension of *-ikъ (hard o-stem)
Usage notes
The diminutive function is productive in North Slavic. In South Slavic languages diminutive formations only exist in relics, mostly in Slovene.
Derived terms
- *-nikъ (appended to the past participle of verbs in *-nъ)
- *-ьnikъ (with *-ьn- element abstracted away from denominal derivations on *-ьnъ)
Related terms
- *-ica (feminine counterpart)
Descendants
- East Slavic:
- South Slavic:
- West Slavic:
References
- Šekli, Matej (2012) “Besedotvorni pomeni samostalniških izpeljank v praslovanščini”, in Philological Studies[1] (in Slovene), volume 10, number 1, Skopje, Perm, Ljubljana, Zagreb, pages 115–32
- “*-ikъ”, in Słownik prasłowiański [Proto-Slavic Dictionary] (in Polish), Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1974–2001, page 90f
- J. Halla-aho (2006): "Nouns in */-k-o-/ " in Problems of Proto-Slavic Historical Nominal Morphology, University of Helsenki, p. 70