Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/vysь
Proto-Slavic
Etymology
The semantic value of the etymon hints towards an likely origin from *h₃up- + *-s + *-is. This root is believed to have given Old Irish úas (“above”), Ancient Greek ὕψι (húpsi, “aloft”) and, further away, it is also associated with the adverb *upó (“above, over, sub”) (see there for further cognates).
The problem with this reconstruction is that it cannot easily explain the long grade in Slavic. That can be a result either of reanalysis or due to amalgamation of the original pre-Slavic *vъ(p)sь with sigmatic forms of the adverb *úd (“out, off”), e.g. a hypothetical **vy(t)šьjь (“outer, external”). The later proto-root is the origin of the preposition Proto-Slavic *vy-.
Noun
*vysь f
Declension
Declension of *vysь (i-stem)
singular | dual | plural | |
---|---|---|---|
nominative | *vysь | *vysi | *vysi |
genitive | *vysi | *vysьju, *vyšu* | *vysьjь, *vysi* |
dative | *vysi | *vysьma | *vysьmъ |
accusative | *vysь | *vysi | *vysi |
instrumental | *vysьjǫ, *vyšǫ* | *vysьma | *vysьmi |
locative | *vysi | *vysьju, *vyšu* | *vysьxъ |
vocative | *vysi | *vysi | *vysi |
* 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).
Derived terms
- *vysõkъ (“high, tall”)
Descendants
References
- Derksen, Rick (2008) Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 535f
- Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “высокий”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress