Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/bьrlogъ

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

Etymology

Uncertain. Possibly from *bьrlati (“to disturb, to burden”) +‎ *-ogъ, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, to carry”). If correct, the original meaning of the term would have been an unnatural structure, perturbation (made by an animal). A similar semantic development is found in *bьrgъ (“landmark, heap”) → (“hut”) (also from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-).

A popular folk-etymology of the term derives it from German Bär (“bear”) + Slavic *logъ (“standpoint”); however, most scholars discard this hypothesis.

Noun

*bьrlogъ m

1. den, lair

   Synonym: *skorlupa

2. cave (secondary)

Inflection

Declension of *bьrlogъ (hard o-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*bьrlogъ	*bьrloga	*bьrlodzi
genitive	*bьrloga	*bьrlogu	*bьrlogъ
dative	*bьrlogu	*bьrlogoma	*bьrlogomъ
accusative	*bьrlogъ	*bьrloga	*bьrlogy
instrumental	*bьrlogъmь, *bьrlogomь*	*bьrlogoma	*bьrlogy
locative	*bьrlodzě	*bьrlogu	*bьrlodzěxъ
vocative	*bьrlože	*bьrloga	*bьrlodzi

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

Alternative forms

• *bьrloga

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: берлога (berloga)
    • Belarusian: бярло́г (bjarlóh), мярло́га (mjarlóha)
    • Russian: берло́га (berlóga), мерло́га (merlóga) (dialectal), мерлу́га (merlúga) (dialectal)
    • Ukrainian: берлога (berloha), барліг (barlih)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: бърлога (bǎrloga)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: брлог

    Latin script: brlog

  • Slovene: brlog
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: brloh
    • Czech: brloh
  • Old Polish: barłóg
    • Polish: barłóg
  • Slovak: brloh

• Non-Slavic:
  • → Romanian: bârlog (“den”)
  • → Hungarian: barlang (“cave, den”)

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “берлога”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1976), “*bьrlogъ, *bьrloga”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 3 (*bratrьcь – *cьrky), Moscow: Nauka, page 168