Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/grěxъ

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

Potentially a conflation of more than one semantic kernels:

• Mledenov, Vasmer, Trubačev, Skok: From an earlier *grēxŭ, stemming from *grěti (“to heat”) +‎ *-xъ, based on related terms conveying thermal states: dial. Bulgarian гря́шка (grjáška, “scorch, fever”), dial. Russian гре́шина (gréšina, “blaze”). Perhaps originally implying “fervour, ardour” → “guilt”.
• Iljinsky, Endzelīns: From an earlier *grai(k)śŭ, related to Lithuanian graižùs (“winding, crooked”), Latvian grèizs (“crooked, slanting, diagonal”) and possibly Proto-Slavic *grěza (“delirium, confusion”). Originally referring to “skewness, misalignment” > “error”. Such a meaning is reflected in agricultural vocabulary: cf. dial. Polish grzecha, ogrzech (“a vacant strip in a sown field or a piece of land not ploughed by the ploughman's carelessness”), dial. Russian грехва (grexva), о́грех (ógrex), Ukrainian о́грех (óhrex, “place not ploughed or badly ploughed”), dial. Belarusian грэх (hrex, “a field that has been missed by sowing or ploughing”). Additionally, in South Slavic (except for Slovene) the principal word for “mistake” is the diminutive form of *grěxъ. For meaning shift compare *krivъ (“crooked, bent; wrong”) : *krivьda (“evil, injustice”).
• Proposed further cognates: Akin to Ancient Greek χρεῖος (khreîos, “liability, debt, need”) (Pedersen) or Ancient Greek χρῑ́ω (khrī́ō, “to smear, to anoint”), χροΐζω (khroḯzō, “to concern”) (Berneker).

Noun

*grě̃xъ m

1. per etymology from early *grēxŭ:
   1. fervour, ardour (damaging thermal state)
   2. (secondary) guilt, grief, regret
2. per etymology from early *grai(k)śŭ:
   1. error, mistake, misconduct

      Synonym: *xyba

Usage notes

Modern descendants generally bear the abstract meaning “sin”. It arose post-Proto-Slavic, under the influence of Christianity, and is a calque of Latin and Greek terms: compare Latin peccātum (“error, mistake, deficiency; sin”), peccāre (“to trip, stumble; to transgress”), Ancient Greek ἁμαρτάνω (hamartánō, “to miss; to fail, sin”), ἁμαρτία (hamartía, “error, mistake; guilt, sin”).

Inflection

Declension of *grě̃xъ (hard o-stem, accent paradigm b)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*grě̃xъ	*grě̄xà	*grě̄śì
genitive	*grě̄xà	*grě̄xù	*grě̃xъ
dative	*grě̄xù	*grě̄xòma	*grě̄xòmъ
accusative	*grě̃xъ	*grě̄xà	*grě̄xỳ
instrumental	*grě̄xъ̀mь, *grě̄xòmь*	*grě̄xòma	*grě̃xy
locative	*grě̄śě̀	*grě̄xù	*grě̃śěxъ
vocative	*grěše	*grě̄xà	*grě̄śì

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

Derived terms

nouns

• *grěšina
• *grěšьka (diminutive)
• *grěxota

 

verbs

• *grěšiti impf (“to err, make mistakes”)
• *grěxovati

 

adjectives

• *grěšьnъ (“wrong, erroneous”)
• *grěxovъ

 

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: грѣхъ (grěxŭ)
    • Old Ruthenian: грѣхъ (hrěx)
      • Belarusian: грэх (hrex)
      • Carpathian Rusyn: грїх (hrjix)
      • Ukrainian: гріх (hrix); грєх (hrjex) (dialectal)
    • Russian: грех (grex)
    • → Latvian: grēks
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: грѣхъ (grěxŭ)

    Glagolitic script: ⰳⱃⱑⱈⱏ (grěxŭ)

    • → Old Komi: 𐍚𐍠𐍔𐍚𐍐 (kreka)
  • Bulgarian: грях (grjah), грех (greh)
  • Macedonian: грев (grev)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: гре̑х, грије̑х (dialectal), грих (dialectal)

    Latin script: grȇh, grijȇh (dialectal), grih (dialectal)

  • Slovene: grẹ́h (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: hřiech
    • Czech: hřích
  • Polabian: greχ
  • Old Polish: grzech
    • Polish: grzech
    • Silesian: grzych
  • Slovak: hriech
  • Pomeranian:
    • Kashubian: grzéch
    • Slovincian: grzéch
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: grěch
    • Upper Sorbian: hrěch

Further reading

• Anikin, A. E. (2018) “грешина”, in Русский этимологический словарь [Russian Etymological Dictionary] (in Russian), numbers 12 (грак – дбать), Moscow: Nestor-Historia, →ISBN, page 93
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “грех”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Boryś, Wiesław (2005) “grzech”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN, page 185
• Zhurawski, A. I., editor (1986), “грѣхъ”, in Гістарычны слоўнік беларускай мовы [Historical Dictionary of the Belarusian Language] (in Belarusian), numbers 7 (гляденье – девичество), Minsk: Navuka i tekhnika, page 148
• Brückner, Aleksander (1927) “grzech”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish), Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna, page 161
• Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1982–2012), “гріх”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “грях”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volumes 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 290
• Yelena Aleksandrovna Potekhina (2012) “Cемантика и прагматика религиозного текста (на материале рукописи «Чин исповеданию» из собрания бывшего старообрядческого монастыря в Войнове)”, in Language and Method, volume 1, →ISSN