Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/kъnęgyni

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 *kъnęgъ +‎ *-yni.

Noun

*kъnęgyni f

1. princess

Declension

Declension of *kъnęgyni (ī-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*kъnęgyni	*kъnęgyňi	*kъnęgyňę̇
genitive	*kъnęgyňę̇	*kъnęgyňu	*kъnęgyňь
dative	*kъnęgyňi	*kъnęgyňama	*kъnęgyňamъ
accusative	*kъnęgyňǫ	*kъnęgyňi	*kъnęgyňę̇
instrumental	*kъnęgyňejǫ, *kъnęgyňǫ**	*kъnęgyňama	*kъnęgyňami
locative	*kъnęgyňi	*kъnęgyňu	*kъnęgyňasъ, *kъnęgyňaxъ*
vocative	*kъnęgyňe	*kъnęgyňi	*kъnęgyňę̇

^* -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: кънѧгꙑни (kŭnęgyni), кнѧгинѧ (knęginę)
    • Old Ruthenian: кнѧги́нѧ (knjahínja), кнеги́нѧ (knehínja), кнѧгы́нѧ (knjahýnja), кнѧхи́нѧ (knjaxínja)
      • Belarusian: княгі́ня (knjahínja)
      • Ukrainian: княги́ня (knjahýnja); книни́нє (knynýnje), клеги́ня (klehýnja) (dialectal)
    • Russian: княги́ня (knjagínja); княги́на (knjagína) (dialectal)
      • → Bulgarian: княги́ня (knjagínja)
      • → Polish: kniahini
  • Old Novgorodian: кънѧгꙑни (kŭnęgyni)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:
    • Church Slavonic: кнѧгꙑни (knęgyni)
  • Bulgarian: княги́ня (knjagínja)
  • Macedonian: кнегиња (kneginja)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: кнѐгиња

    Latin script: knèginja

  • Slovene: knẹ̑ginja (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: knieni
    • Czech: kněhyně, kněně, kníně, kňahně (obsolete)
  • Polabian: t'ėnąd'aińă
  • Old Polish: księgyni
    • ⇒ Old Polish: ksieni
      • Polish: ksieni (partially, obsolete)
  • Old Slovak: kňahňa
    • Slovak: kňahyňa (obsolete); kňei̯hňa, kňei̯hňe (dialectal)
  • Sorbian:

    Lower Sorbian: kněni; kńani (obsolete)

    Upper Sorbian: knjeni

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1987), “*kъnęgyni”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 13 (*kroměžirъ – *kyžiti), Moscow: Nauka, page 199
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “княги́ня”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress