miškas

Lithuanian

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miškas

Etymology

Of unclear origin.

While the dialectal term mẽdžias (“forest”) is cognate with Latvian mežs (“forest”) and thus from Proto-Balto-Slavic *medja- (“boundary”) (compare Old Prussian median (“forest”), Russian межа́ (mežá, “boundary-strip”), Czech meze (“between”)), mi̇̀škas cannot be connected with such certainty on phonetic grounds.

A connection with Ancient Greek μίσχος (mískhos, “stalk of a flower or leaf”) and μίσκος (mískos, “pod, shell”) is difficult semantically, unless we posit an original meaning of "trunk, bar" for the Lithuanian word.^[1]

As a solution to problems such as the above, Smoczynski proposes a hypothetical earlier meaning of "mixed forest (with both deciduous and coniferous trees)", and tentatively derives the word from Proto-Indo-European *meyḱ- (“to mix”), via the verb sumi̇̀šti (“to mingle”).^[2]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈmʲɪʃkɐs]
Rhymes: -ɪʃkɐs
Syllabification: mi̇̀‧škas

Noun

mi̇̀škas m (plural miškai̇̃) stress pattern 4 ^[3]

forest (dense collection of trees)
(dialectal) wood or timber used for building

Declension

Declension of **mi̇̀škas**
	singular	plural
nominative	mi̇̀škas	miškai̇̃
genitive	mi̇̀ško	miškų̃
dative	mi̇̀škui	miškáms
accusative	mi̇̀šką	miškùs
instrumental	miškù	miškai̇̃s
locative	miškè	miškuosè
vocative	mi̇̀ške	miškai̇̃

Synonyms

(forest): giria; (dialectal, Southern Aukštaitian) mẽdžias

Hyponyms

šilas

Derived terms

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume II, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 958
^ Smoczyński, Wojciech (2007), “mi̇̀škas”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka litewskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language]‎^[1] (in Polish), Vilnius: Vilnius University, pages 406-7
^ “miškas” in Balčikonis, Juozas et al. (1954), Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas. Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla.

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume II, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 958

[2] Smoczyński, Wojciech (2007), “mi̇̀škas”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka litewskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language]‎^[1] (in Polish), Vilnius: Vilnius University, pages 406-7

[3] “miškas” in Balčikonis, Juozas et al. (1954), Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas. Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla.

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