Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/plemę

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

Uncertain. Proposed etymologies include:

• From the root of *pl̥Hmeh₂ - hand, part of all collective.
• From the root of Proto-Slavic *plodъ (“fruit”) + *-mę. Probably akin to Latin plēbs.
• From *plesti (“to entwine, to plait”) +‎ *-mę.

Accentological notes

In the Old Bulgarian monuments, the stress shifted to the right onto a short syllable only if it was followed by a long syllable—nom.-acc.sg. плє́мѧ, gen.sg. плє́мєнє (4×), dat.sg. плє́мєноу, dat.pl. плє́мєнємь (2×), ins.pl. плє́мєн'ми, loc.pl. плє́мєнєxъ (2×, -ѡxь) vs. nom.-acc.pl. плємє́на, gen.pl. плємє́нь (3×), but gen.pl. плє́мєн| (2×).

Noun

*plemę̀ n

1. tribe

Declension

Declension of *plemę̀ (n-stem, accent paradigm b)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*plemę̀	*plemèni	*plemènā
genitive	*plemène	*plemènu	*plemènъ
dative	*plemèni	*plemènьma	*plemènьmъ
accusative	*plemę̀	*plemèni	*plemènā
instrumental	*plemènьmь	*plemènьma	*plemènȳ
locative	*plemène	*plemènu	*plemènьxъ
vocative	*plemę̀	*plemèni	*plemènā

Derived terms

adjectives

• *plemenьnъ (“to tribal”)

nouns

• *plemenьnikъ m (“relative, cousin”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: племѧ (plemę)
    • Belarusian: пле́мя (pljémja)
    • Russian: пле́мя (plémja)
    • Ukrainian: пле́м'я (plémʺja)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic: племѧ (plemę)
  • Bulgarian: пле́ме (pléme)
  • Macedonian: племе (pleme)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: пле̏ме

    Latin script: plȅme

  • Slovene: pléme
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: plémě
    • Czech: plemeno
      • Moravian (Mistřice): plemeno
  • Old Polish: plemię
    • Polish: plemię
    • Silesian: plymiã
  • Pomeranian:
    • Kashubian: plemiã
  • Slovak: plemeno (with paradigm leveling)

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “пле́мя”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Duridanov, I. V., Racheva, M., Todorov, T. A., editors (1996), “племе”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 5 (падѐж – пỳска), Sofia: Prof. Marin Drinov Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 332