Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/orbъ

This Proto-Slavic entry contains reconstructed words 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

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *arbas, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃órbʰos (“orphan”). According to the majority view, cognate with Ancient Greek ὀρφανός (orphanós, “orphaned”), Latin orbus (“orphaned”), Old Armenian որբ (orb, “orphan; orphaned”) and Sanskrit अर्भ (árbha, “child; small”). Per Derksen, probably also cognate with Proto-Germanic *arbaidiz.

Noun

*õrbъ m

1. servant, slave

Declension

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

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*õrbъ	*ōrbà	*ōrbì
Accusative	*õrbъ	*ōrbà	*ōrbỳ
Genitive	*ōrbà	*ōrbù	*õrbъ
Locative	*ōrbě̀	*ōrbù	*õrběxъ
Dative	*ōrbù	*ōrbòma	*ōrbòmъ
Instrumental	*ōrbъ̀mь, *ōrbòmь*	*ōrbòma	*õrby
Vocative	*orbe	*ōrbà	*ōrbì

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

Derived terms

• *orběti
• *orbinъ
• *orbiti (“to do, to work”)
• *orbota (“work”)
• *orbovati
• *orbyni (“female slave, maid”)
• *orbьcь
• *orbьja
• *orbьjь (“laborous”)
• *orbьnъ
• *orbьskъ
• *orbьstvo
• *orb(j)enьje

• *orbotati
• *orbotędzь / *orbotęgъ / *orbotęga
• *orbotiti
• *orbotizna / *orbotiznь
• *orboťь
• *orbotъka
• *orbotьlivъ
• *orbotьnъ
• *orbotьnica
• *orbotьnikъ
• *orbotьničь
• *paorbъkъ

Related terms

• *orbę

Descendants

Note that the descendants exhibit a metathesis of the liquid r (*or- > ro-; ra-):

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: робъ (robŭ)
    • Old Ruthenian: робъ (rob)
      • Ukrainian: роб (rob)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic: рабъ (rabŭ)

    Glagolitic: ⱃⰰⰱⱏ (rabŭ)

    • → Old East Slavic: рабъ (rabŭ)
      • Old Ruthenian: рабъ (rab)
        • Belarusian: раб (rab)
        • Ukrainian: раб (rab)
      • Russian: раб (rab)
    • → Old Novgorodian:

      Old Cyrillic: рабе (rabe)

      Glagolitic: ⱃⰰⰱⰵ (rabe)

  • Bulgarian: раб (rab)
  • Macedonian: раб (rab)
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: rob
  • → Bulgarian: роб (rob)
  • → Macedonian: роб (rob)
  • → Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic: роб

    Latin: rob

  • → Slovene: rob

• Non-Slavic:
  • → Hungarian: rab
  • → Romanian: rob

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, Zhuravlev, A. F., editors (2005), “*orbъ/*orba”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological Dictionary of Slavic Languages] (in Russian), volume 32: (*obžьnъ – *orzbotati), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 131
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “раб”, in Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), translated from German and supplemented by Oleg Trubachyov, Moscow: Progress
• Савва Михайлович (2012), “22 Древнерусских глаголических надписи-граффити XI–XII веков из Новгорода” in Slovo, vol. 62, pp. 63-99.