Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/po

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

Etymology tree

Proto-Balto-Slavic *pa

Proto-Slavic *po

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *pa, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂pó (“off, away”). Balto-Slavic cognates include Latvian pa, Lithuanian pa-, Old Prussian pa-, po-.

Indo-European cognates include Mycenaean Greek 𐀀𐀢 (a-pu), Sanskrit अप- (ápa-, “away, off”), Latin ab (“from”), Old Persian 𐎠𐎱 (apa, “away”), Proto-Germanic *ab (“away from”).

Another variant of the preposition (likely descending from pre-Slavic *pós) has been used to form the adverbs Proto-Slavic *pozdě (“lately”) and Proto-Slavic *poslě (“afterwards”).

Preposition

*po

1. (with locative) after
2. by
3. at

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Belarusian: по (po), па (pa)
  • Russian: по (po)
  • Carpathian Rusyn: по (po)
  • Ukrainian: по (po)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: по (po)

    Glagolitic script: ⱂⱁ (po)

  • Bulgarian: по (po)
  • Macedonian: по (po)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: по

    Latin script: po

  • Slovene: po (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: po
    • Czech: po
  • Old Polish: po
    • Polish: po
    • Silesian: po
  • Slovak: po
  • Pomeranian:
    • Kashubian: pò, pó
    • Slovincian: pô
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: po
    • Lower Sorbian: pó

References

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “по”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress