Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/vьrba

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

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *wirb-. Cognate with Lithuanian vir̃bas, Latvian vir̂bs, virba, Ancient Greek ῥᾰ́βδος (rhábdos), Latin verbēna, verber, Proto-Germanic *warpą.

Noun

*vьrba f

1. willow

Declension

Declension of *vьrba (hard a-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*vьrba	*vьrbě	*vьrby
genitive	*vьrby	*vьrbu	*vьrbъ
dative	*vьrbě	*vьrbama	*vьrbamъ
accusative	*vьrbǫ	*vьrbě	*vьrby
instrumental	*vьrbojǫ, *vьrbǫ**	*vьrbama	*vьrbami
locative	*vьrbě	*vьrbu	*vьrbasъ, *vьrbaxъ*
vocative	*vьrbo	*vьrbě	*vьrby

^* -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:
  • Old East Slavic: вьрба (vĭrba)
    • Old Ruthenian: верба́ (verbá)
      • Belarusian: вярба́ (vjarbá); вэрба́ (verbá) (dialectal)
      • Ukrainian: верба́ (verbá)
    • Russian: ве́рба (vérba)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic: вьрба (vĭrba)
  • Bulgarian: върба́ (vǎrbá)
  • Macedonian: врба (vrba)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: вр́ба

    Latin script: vŕba

  • Slovene: vŕba
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: vrba
    • Czech: vrba
      • Moravian (Mistřice): vŕba
  • Polabian: varbă
  • Old Polish: wierzba
    • Polish: wierzba
    • Silesian: wiyrba
  • Slovak: vŕba
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: wjerba
    • Lower Sorbian: wjerba

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “ве́рба”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1982), “верба́”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), volumes 1 (А – Г), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, page 350
• Martynaŭ, V. U., Tsykhun, G. A., editors (1978–2017), “вярба́”, in Этымалагічны слоўнік беларускай мовы [Etymological Dictionary of the Belarusian Language] (in Belarusian), Minsk: Belaruskaia navuka