Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/kъnędzь

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 earlier *kъnęgъ. By consensus ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kuningaz. A minority position instead takes the word as native Proto-Slavic *kun-ingo- (“protruding, prominent”) (*kъnъ +‎ *-ędzь) and borrowed into Proto-Germanic.

Noun

*kъ̏nędzь m

1. prince

Declension

Declension of *kъ̏nędzь (soft o-stem, accent paradigm c)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*kъ̏nędzь	*kъ̏nędza	*kъ̏nędzi
genitive	*kъ̏nędza	*kъnędzù	*kъnę̃dzь
dative	*kъ̏nędzu	*kъnędzemà	*kъnędzèmъ
accusative	*kъ̏nędzь	*kъ̏nędza	*kъ̏nędzę̇
instrumental	*kъ̏nędzьmь, *kъ̏nędzemь*	*kъnędzemà	*kъnędzí
locative	*kъ̏nędzi	*kъnędzù	*kъnędzĩxъ
vocative	*kъnęže	*kъ̏nędza	*kъ̏nędzi

^* -ьmь in North Slavic, -emь in South Slavic.

Derived terms

• *kъnęgyni
• *kъnęžę
• *kъnęžiti
• *kъnęžiťь
• *kъnęžь
• *kъnęžьna

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: кънѧзь (kŭnęzĭ), кнѧзь (knęzĭ)
    • Old Ruthenian: кнѧзь (knjazʹ)
      • Belarusian: князь (knjazʹ)
      • Ukrainian: князь (knjazʹ)
    • Russian: князь (knjazʹ) (see there for further descendants)
    • → Old Novgorodian: кънѧꙁь (kŭnęzĭ)
      • Old Pskovian: кънѧжь (kŭnęźĭ)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: кънѧѕь (kŭnędzĭ), кънѧзь (kŭnęzĭ), кнѧзь (knęzĭ)

    Glagolitic script: ⰽⱏⱀⱔⰸⱐ (kŭnęzĭ)

    • → Romanian: cneaz
  • Bulgarian: княз (knjaz), кнез (knez)
  • Macedonian: кнез (knez)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: кне̑з

    Latin script: knȇz

  • Slovene: knẹ̑z (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: kněz
    • Czech: kněz (“priest”), kníže (“prince, duke”)
  • Old Polish: ksiądz
    • Polish: ksiądz, xiądz (pre-reform orthography (1816))
      • → Belarusian: ксёндз (ksjondz)
      • → Latvian: ksendzs
      • → Russian: ксёндз (ksjondz)
      • → Ukrainian: ксьондз (ksʹondz)
    • Silesian: ksiōndz
  • Slovak: kňaz (“priest”), knieža (“duke”)
  • Polabian: ťėnąʒ
  • Pomeranian:
    • Kashubian: ksądz, ksydz, knądz
    • Slovincian: ksõdz
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: knjez
    • Lower Sorbian: kněz

• Non-Slavic:
  • → Hungarian: kenéz
    • → Romanian: chinez

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “князь”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1987), “*kъnęzь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 13 (*kroměžirъ – *kyžiti), Moscow: Nauka, page 200