Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/svorga

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

Alternative reconstructions

• *sorga (homonymous with unrelated *sorga (“jet, flux”))

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *swergʰ-, probably a g-extension of *swer- (“to ache, to prickle, to itch”). Akin to Lithuanian sérgti (“to be sick”), Proto-Germanic *surgō (“worry, sorrow”).

Noun

*svorga f

1. severity, infelicity, bane

   → cause of misery (plague, famine, scarcity, etc.)

   Synonyms: *běda, *zъlokoba

2. (figurative) wretch (unfortunate person)

Declension

Declension of *svorga (hard a-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*svorga	*svordzě	*svorgy
genitive	*svorgy	*svorgu	*svorgъ
dative	*svordzě	*svorgama	*svorgamъ
accusative	*svorgǫ	*svordzě	*svorgy
instrumental	*svorgojǫ, *svorgǫ**	*svorgama	*svorgami
locative	*svordzě	*svorgu	*svorgasъ, *svorgaxъ*
vocative	*svorgo	*svordzě	*svorgy

^* -asъ is the expected Balto-Slavic form but is found only in some Old Czech documents; -axъ is found everywhere else and is formed by analogy with other locative plurals in -xъ.
^** The second form occurs in languages that contract early across /j/ (e.g. Czech), while the first form occurs in languages that do not (e.g. Russian).

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Russian: соро́га (soróga)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic: срага (sraga)
    • → Old East Slavic: срагъ (sragŭ)
  • Bulgarian: сра́га (srága, “terrible fate, misfortune”) (archaic, in folklore)

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “сорога”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress