Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/slověninъ

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

• Roman Jakobson believes the word is from *slovo (“word”), with a link to Old East Slavic кличане (kličane, “hunters, who raise game by shout”) : Russian кличь (kličʹ), and also perceives an opposition of *slověne vs. *němьci.

• Trubachev (Трубачёв) says Jakobson's etymology is promising, with the verb *slovǫ, *sluti (“to speak (understandably)”).

• Vasmer says it has nothing to do with *slava (“glory, fame”) which influenced it in terms of folk etymology later. *slověne can't be formed from *slovo because *-ěninъ, *-aninъ only occurs in derivations from place names, however a local name *Slovy is not attested. Most likely it's derived from a hydronym.

Compare Old East Slavic Словутичь (Slovutičĭ) ― Dnepr epithet, Russian Слуя (Sluja) ― affluent of Вазуза (Vazuza), Polish river names Sława, Sławica, Serbo-Croatian Славница and others, which brings together with Ancient Greek κλύζω (klúzō, “I lave”), κλύζωει (klúzōei) · πλημμυρεῖ (plēmmureî), ῥέει (rhéei), βρύει (brúei), κλύδων (klúdōn, “surf”), Latin cluō (“I clean”), cloāca (“sewer pipe”). Other etymologies are less likely.

• Otrębski brings up an interesting parallel, the Lithuanian village name Šlavė́nai on the river Šlavė̃ which is identical to Proto-Slavic *slověne.

• Bernstein repeats this etymology: from *slawos (“people, nation, folk”).

• Maher agrees with Trubachev's connection of it to *sluti (“to be known”), on the grounds that *slovo (“word”) is an s-stem, *sloves-, which would have led to an expected form *slovesěni (compare Russian слове́сность (slovésnostʹ).

More at Slavs.

Noun

*slověninъ m

1. Slav

Declension

Declension of *slověninъ

Case	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*slověninъ	*slověnina	*slověne
Accusative	*slověninъ	*slověnina	*slověny
Genitive	*slověninа	*slověninu	*slověnъ
Locative	*slověnině	*slověninu	*slověnьxъ
Dative	*slověninu	*slověninoma	*slověnьmъ
Instrumental	*slověninomь	*slověninoma	*slověny
Vocative	*slověnine	*slověnina	*slověne

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Antonyms

• *němьcь
• *volxъ

Derived terms

• *slověnьskъ (“Slavic”)

Related terms

• *slovo
• *slava
• *sluti

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: словѣнинъ (slověninŭ), словѣне pl (slověne)
    • Old Ruthenian: словꙗнинъ (slovjanin), славꙗнинъ (slavjanin), словѣнинъ (slověnin)
      • Belarusian: славяні́н (slavjanín), славя́не pl (slavjánje)
      • Rusyn: славянин (slavjanyn), славяне pl (slavjane)
      • Ukrainian: слов'яни́н (slovʺjanýn), слов'я́ни pl (slovʺjány)
    • Russian: славяни́н (slavjanín), слове́н (slovén, “an Ilmen Slav”), obsolete словяни́н (slovjanín), словени́н (slovenín), славени́н (slavenín)
      • → Serbo-Croatian:

        Cyrillic script: Сла̀ве̄н

        Latin script: Slàvēn

• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: словѣнинъ pl (slověninŭ)

    Glagolitic script: ⱄⰾⱁⰲⱑⱀⰵ pl (slověne)

    • → Byzantine Greek: Σλαβῆνος (Slabênos), Σκλάβος (Sklábos) (probably; but see that entry for another theory)
      • Greek: σκλάβος (sklávos), Σλάβος (Slávos)
      • → Medieval Latin: Sclavus, sclavus (see there for further descendants)
  • Bulgarian: славя́нин (slavjánin)
  • Macedonian: Словен (Sloven)
  • Slovene: Slovȃn
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: Сло̀вје̄н, Сло̀ве̄н

    Latin script: Slòvjēn, Slòvēn

• West Slavic:
  • Czech: Slovan, Slované pl
  • Kashubian: Słowiónie pl
  • Polish: Słowianin
  • Lower Sorbian: Słowjanin
  • Slovak: Slovien, Slovan
    • ⇒ Slovak: Slovák
  • Upper Sorbian: Słowjenjo pl

References

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “славянин”, in Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), transl. and suppl. by Oleg Trubachyov, Moscow: Progress
• “Slav”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present. (etymology)
• Oleg Trubachyov (1982), “Из исследований по праславянскому словообразованию: генезис модели на -ěninъ, -*janinъ”, in Этимология 1980, Moscow, page 3
• Sreznevsky, Izmail I. (1912), “словѣнинъ”, in Матеріалы для Словаря древне-русскаго языка по письменнымъ памятникамъ [Materials for the Dictionary of the Old East Slavic Language Based on Written Monuments]‎^[1] (in Russian), volume 3 (Р – Ꙗ и дополненія), Saint Petersburg: Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, column 421
• Stanislav, Jan (1904-1977): Starosloviensky jazyk II: Morfológia, Bratislava 1987

Further reading

• Ballester, Xaverio (2019), “Slověninъ, o del etnónimo de los eslavos”, in 57 - Lingüística
• Mesiarkin, Adam (2017), “The name of the slavs: etymology and meaning”, in Studia Slavic et Balcania Petropolitana, issue 1, page 3
• Florin Curta (2011), “Sklaviniai and ethnic adjectives: a clarification”, in Byzantion Nea Hellás, volume 30, page 85