Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/bolьnica

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

• *boľьnica (ESSJa)

Etymology

From *bolьnъ (“sick, ill”) +‎ *-ica, from *bolь (“pain”). Comparable to *bolьnikъ m (“sick man”).

Noun

*bolьnica f

1. (East and South Slavic) sick woman

Reconstruction notes

The semantics of the “hospital, institutions where people are treated” is secondary (post-Proto-Slavic) and represents an inter-Slavic book borrowing (from Church Slavonic and Russian). However, in Old Church Slavonic *больница (*bolĭnica) is not attested.

Inflection

Declension of *bolьnica (soft a-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*bolьnica	*bolьnici	*bolьnicę̇
genitive	*bolьnicę̇	*bolьnicu	*bolьnicь
dative	*bolьnici	*bolьnicama	*bolьnicamъ
accusative	*bolьnicǫ	*bolьnici	*bolьnicę̇
instrumental	*bolьnicejǫ, *bolьnicǫ**	*bolьnicama	*bolьnicami
locative	*bolьnici	*bolьnicu	*bolьnicasъ, *bolьnicaxъ*
vocative	*bolьnice	*bolьnici	*bolьnicę̇

^* -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: больница (bolĭnica, “sick woman”)
• South Slavic:
  • >? Old Church Slavonic:
    • Church Slavonic: больни́ца (bolĭníca, “place in the monastery for the sick”) (<^? больнъ (bolĭnŭ, “sick”) + -ица (-ica))
      • → Bulgarian: бо́лница (bólnica, “hospital”)
      • → Macedonian: болница (bolnica, “hospital”)
      • → Old East Slavic: больница (bolĭnica, “infirmary, hospital (usually at a monastery)”)
        • Old Ruthenian: больница (bolʹnica), болница (bolnica, “asylum; hospital”)
          • Belarusian: бальні́ца (balʹníca)
          • Carpathian Rusyn: бо́лниця (bólnycja)
          • Ukrainian: бо́льниця (bólʹnycja) (obsolete)
        • Russian: больни́ца (bolʹníca, “hospital”)
          • → Armenian: բալնիցա (balnicʻa), բալինցա (balincʻa)
          • → Bezhta: балница (balnica)
          • → Ingrian: bolnitsa
          • → Karelian:
            • North Karelian: polʹničča
            • South Karelian: bolʹničča
          • → Livvi: bolʹničču
          • → Kazakh: бәлніс (bälnıs)
          • → Mongolian:

            Cyrillic script: больниц (bolʹnic)

            Mongolian script: ᠪᠣᠯᠢᠨᠢᠼᠠ (bolinica)

          • → Yakut: балыыһа (balııha)
      • → Romanian: bolniță (dated)
      • → Serbo-Croatian:

        Cyrillic script: бо́лница (“hospital”)

        Latin script: bólnica (“hospital”)

      • → Slovene: bọ̑lnica (“hospital”) (tonal orthography)
    • Bulgarian: болни́ца (bolníca, “sick woman”) (archaic)
    • Macedonian: болница (bolnica, “sick woman”)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: бо̂лница (“sick woman”), бо̂ница, бо̏ланица, бо́ница

    Latin script: bôlnica (“sick woman”), bônica, bȍlanica, bónica

  • Slovene: bolníca (“sick, patient (female)”) (tonal orthography)

Further reading

• Shaposhnikov, A. K. (2010) “больница”, in Этимологический словарь современного русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Contemporary Russian Language] (in Russian), volumes 1: (А – Начальство), Moscow: Flinta; Nauka, →ISBN, page 72