Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/nožь

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 *noziti +‎ *-jь, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁noǵʰyo-. Probable cognates include Ancient Greek νύσσω (nússō), Attic Ancient Greek νύττω (núttō), Ancient Greek ἔγχος (énkhos, “spear”), and perhaps Old Irish ness. According to Vasmer, cognate with Avestan 𐬥𐬀𐬉𐬰𐬀 (naēza), Latin nectō (“I bind, tie”), and Sanskrit नह्यति (nahyati, “to bind, tie”). These are all phonetically difficult to justify, however. According to Trubachyov, cognate with Lithuanian knẽžas (“knife”). This is unlikely due to the lack of an initial k- in Proto-Slavic.

Noun

*nòžь m

1. tool for pricking
2. knife

Inflection

Declension of *nòžь (soft o-stem, accent paradigm b)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*nòžь	*nožà	*nožì
genitive	*nožà	*nožù	*nòžь
dative	*nožù	*nožèma	*nòžemъ
accusative	*nòžь	*nožà	*nožę̇̀
instrumental	*nožь̀mь, *nožèmь*	*nožèma	*nòži
locative	*nožì	*nožù	*nòžixъ
vocative	*nožu	*nožà	*nožì

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

Derived terms

• *nožarъ (< nožь + -ěrъ)
• *noževъ
  • *noževъka
  • *noževьnikъ
• *nožica / *nožici / *nožicь (?)
• *nožikъ
• *nožišče
• *nožiťь
• *nožьkъ
• *nožьnъ
  • *nožьna / *nožьnja / *nožьně / *nožьny
    • *nožьnica / *nožьnici / *nožьnicě
  • *nožьnikъ

Related terms

• *vъnoziti (“to thrust”)
• *vъnьziti (“to plunge, thrust”)
• *vъnьznǫti (“to drive into”)
• *vъnьzti

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: ножь (nožĭ)
    • Old Ruthenian: ножъ (nož), ножь (nožʹ) — archaic spelling
      • Belarusian: нож (nož)
      • Carpathian Rusyn: нуж (nuž)
      • Ukrainian: ніж (niž)
    • Russian: нож (nož)
    • → Latvian: nazis
  • Old Novgorodian: ножь (nožĭ)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: ножь (nožĭ)

    Glagolitic script: ⱀⱁⰶⱐ (nožĭ)

    • Bulgarian: нож (nož)
    • Macedonian: нож (nož)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: но̑ж

    Latin script: nȏž

  • Slovene: nȍž (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: nóž
    • Czech: nůž
  • Polabian: nüz
  • Polish: nóż
  • Slovak: nôž
  • Pomeranian:
    • Kashubian: nóż
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: nož
    • Lower Sorbian: nož

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “нож”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Chernykh, P. Ja. (1993) “нож”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), 3rd edition, volume 1 (а – пантомима), Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 575
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1999), “*nožь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 26 (*novoukъ(jь) – *obgorditi), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 23