Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/drězga

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 *drēˀgskāˀ. Equivalent to *drěgavъ (“murky, turbid”) +‎ *-zgъ +‎ *-a.

Seems to be related with the nasalized *dręzga (“scuffle; dense forest”). Similar alternation between plain and nasalized roots is encountered also in Baltic: compare Lithuanian drėgnas (“damp, wet, moist”) and Latvian drę̂gns (“damp, moist”), Lithuanian drangus (“rainy, bad (for weather)”). Based on Derksen, it could be speculated that all these terms continue Proto-Indo-European *dʰerg-/*dʰreg- (“dark, dim”). Akin to Proto-West Germanic *derk (“dark”), Proto-Celtic *dergos (“crimson”), Tocharian A tärkär/Tocharian B tarkär (“cloud”).

Noun

*drězgà f

1. murky, unclear space

   → dense shrubs or grove

2. sort of hydrophilic plant (watermilfoil or water-parsnip)
3. sliver, splinter

Declension

Declension of *drězga (hard a-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*drězga	*drězdzě	*drězgy
genitive	*drězgy	*drězgu	*drězgъ
dative	*drězdzě	*drězgama	*drězgamъ
accusative	*drězgǫ	*drězdzě	*drězgy
instrumental	*drězgojǫ, *drězgǫ**	*drězgama	*drězgami
locative	*drězdzě	*drězgu	*drězgasъ, *drězgaxъ*
vocative	*drězgo	*drězdzě	*drězgy

^* -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).

Related terms

• *dьrča (“bad weather”)
• *padorga (“bad weather”)

Derived terms

• *drězgavъ (“murky, muddy, unclear”) (doublet of *drěgavъ)
• *drěždžati (“to stand still, to stiffen”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Russian: дрезга́ (drezgá) (dialectal)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: дрезга́ (drezgá, “small murky/dense forest”)
  • Macedonian: дрезга (drezga, “water-parsnip”)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: дре̑зга, дре̏зга (“watermilfoil”)

    Latin script: drijezga

• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: dřiezha
  • Polish: drzazga (“splinter”), dial. drzezga

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1978), “*drězga”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 5 (*dělo – *dьržьlь), Moscow: Nauka, page 111
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “дрезга”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 424