кънига

Old East Slavic

Alternative forms

• книга (kniga)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *kъňiga.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʊˈnʲiɡɑ/→/kʊˈnʲiɡa/→/ˈknʲiɡa/

• (ca. 9^th CE) IPA^(key): /kʊˈnʲiɡɑ/
• (ca. 11^th CE) IPA^(key): /kʊˈnʲiɡa/
• (ca. 13^th CE) IPA^(key): /ˈknʲiɡa/

• Hyphenation: къ‧ни‧га

Noun

кънига (kŭniga) f (diminutive кънижька, related adjective кънижьнъ)

1. book

Declension

Declension of кънига (hard a-stem)

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	кънига kŭniga	кънизѣ kŭnizě	кънигꙑ kŭnigy
Genitive	кънигꙑ kŭnigy	кънигу kŭnigu	кънигъ kŭnigŭ
Dative	кънизѣ kŭnizě	кънигама kŭnigama	кънигамъ kŭnigamŭ
Accusative	кънигѫ kŭnigǫ	кънизѣ kŭnizě	кънигꙑ kŭnigy
Instrumental	кънигоѭ kŭnigojǫ	кънигама kŭnigama	кънигами kŭnigami
Locative	кънизѣ kŭnizě	кънигу kŭnigu	кънигахъ kŭnigaxŭ
Vocative	къниго kŭnigo	кънизѣ kŭnizě	кънигꙑ kŭnigy

Descendants

• Old Ruthenian: кни́га (kníha)
  • Belarusian: кні́га (kníha)
  • Carpathian Rusyn: кни́га (knýha)
  • Ukrainian: кни́га (knýha)
  • → Lithuanian: knygà
• Russian: кни́га (kníga) (see there for further descendants)
• → Ossetian: (Iron) чиныг (ḱinyg), (Digor) киунугӕ (kiwnugæ), кинугӕ (kinugæ)
• → Erzya: кинига (kiniga)

References

• Sreznevsky, Izmail I. (1893) “кънига”, in Матеріалы для Словаря древне-русскаго языка по письменнымъ памятникамъ [Materials for the Dictionary of the Old East Slavic Language Based on Written Monuments]‎^[2] (in Russian), volume 1 (А – К), Saint Petersburg: Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, column 1391

Old Novgorodian

Novgorod Codex (1015±35), oldest known book of Rus'

Etymology

First attested in c. 1140‒1160. Inherited from Proto-Slavic *kъňìga. Cognate with Old East Slavic кънига (kŭniga), Old Ruthenian кни́га (kníha), Old Church Slavonic кън҄игꙑ / ⰽⱏⱀⰻⰳⱏⰺ pl (kŭnʹigy), Old Polish knięga.

Noun

кънига • (kŭniga) f

1. book
   • c. 1140‒1160, Берестяная грамота № 846 [Birchbark letter no. 846]‎^[3], Novgorod:

     ѿ дъмитра мольба къ [п]… попꙑтаї съчетъкѣ слоужь[б](ьн)… и коубицѣ въдаї съ къни(гами) …

     otŭ dŭmitra molĭba kŭ [p]… popytai sŭćetŭkě služĭ[b](ĭn)… i kubićě vŭdai sŭ kŭni(gami) …

     A request from Dmitry to … Find the “service signature” and give it to Kubica along with the books.

Further reading

• “кънига”, in Берестяные грамоты – Национальный корпус русского языка [Birchbark Letters – Russian National Corpus], https://ruscorpora.ru/, 2003–2025