Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/koňь

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

There are two theories about its origin:

• (Vasmer, Skok, Długosz-Kurczabowa, Holub/Kopečný): from *komňь (cf. Old East Slavic комонь (komonʹ, “horse”)), from early *kobňь, akin to *kobyla (“mare”). Compare Latin caballus (“working horse”), Proto-Celtic *kapallos (> Old Irish capall).
• (Brückner, Długosz-Kurczabowa): from *komňь (cf. Old East Slavic комонь (komonʹ, “horse”)), related to komosić (“make wild, enrage”) cognate with Lithuanian kumelė (“mare”), Old Prussian kamnet (“horse”). (Note, however, that komosić does not seem to exist in East or South Slavic and therefore probably is not very old and that Skok explains the similar verbs komešati (“stir, mix”) and kovitlati (“gyrate, form an eddy”) with a prefix *ko-.)

Noun

*kòňь m

1. horse

   Synonym: *komoňь

Declension

Declension of *kòňь (soft o-stem, accent paradigm b)

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*kòňь	*koňà	*koňì
Accusative	*kòňь	*koňà	*koňę̇̀
Genitive	*koňà	*koňù	*kòňь
Locative	*koňì	*koňù	*kòňixъ
Dative	*koňù	*koňèma	*kòňemъ
Instrumental	*koňь̀mь, *koňèmь*	*koňèma	*kòňi
Vocative	*koňu	*koňà	*koňì

^* -ьmь in North Slavic, -emь in South Slavic.

Related terms

• *komoňь (possibly)

Derived terms

• *konьnъ (“equine”)
• *konьskъ (“horsy”)
• *konьnikъ (“knight”)
• *konьnica (“cavalry”)
• *koňušьna (“stable”)
• *koňarь (“stableman, syce”)
• *koňevodъ (“horse herder”)
• *koňekradъ (“horse thief”)
• *konotopъ (“swamp”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: конь (konĭ)
    • Middle Russian: конь (konʹ)
      • Russian: конь (konʹ)
    • Old Ruthenian: конь (konʹ), кунь (kunʹ); кунъ (kun); конъ (kon), kon
      • Belarusian: конь (konʹ)
      • Rusyn: кӱнь (künʹ)
      • Ukrainian: кінь (kinʹ); кунь (kunʹ) (dialectal)
  • Old Novgorodian: коне (kone)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic: кон҄ь (konʹĭ)

    Glagolitic: ⰽⱁⱀⱐ (konĭ)

  • Bulgarian: кон (kon)
  • Macedonian: коњ (konj)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic: ко̏њ

    Latin: kȍnj

    • Slavomolisano: konj
  • Slovene: kȍnj (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: kóň
    • Czech: kůň
  • Kashubian: kóń
  • Polabian: ťün
  • Old Polish: kóń
    • Polish: koń; kóń (dialectal)
  • Silesian: kůń
  • Slovak: kôň
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: kóń
    • Upper Sorbian: kóń

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “конь”, in Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), transl. and suppl. by Oleg Trubachyov, Moscow: Progress
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1983), “*konь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological Dictionary of Slavic Languages] (in Russian), issue 10 (*klepačь – *konь), Moscow: Nauka, page 197
• Georgiev V. I., editor (1979), “кон¹”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 2, Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, page 578