Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/stěgъ

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

Alternative reconstructions

• *stęgъ (possibly)

Etymology

Of unclear origin. Limited to South Slavic. Its origin is speculated to be from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“stake, beam”) (or less likely from o-grade of Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“stick”)). Possibly akin to Proto-Germanic *stakô (“stake”) and Latin tignum (“log, beam”).

Synonymous with East Slavic *stęgъ, from Old Norse stǫng (“bar, pole”). The relationship between the two words is unclear. Not all authors agree that the two forms are genetically related, despite their identical meaning, but that they are rather similarly developed false cognates or later borrowings.

Noun

*stěgъ m

1. post
2. flag, banner

   Synonyms: *znamę, *xorǫgy, *porporьcь

Inflection

Declension of *stěgъ (hard o-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*stěgъ	*stěga	*stědzi
genitive	*stěga	*stěgu	*stěgъ
dative	*stěgu	*stěgoma	*stěgomъ
accusative	*stěgъ	*stěga	*stěgy
instrumental	*stěgъmь, *stěgomь*	*stěgoma	*stěgy
locative	*stědzě	*stěgu	*stědzěxъ
vocative	*stěže	*stěga	*stědzi

^* -ъmь in North Slavic, -omь in South Slavic.

Related terms

• *stogъ (“stack”)
• *stožěrъ (“pole, pivot”)

Descendants

• East Slavic: (possibly)
  • Old East Slavic: стѧгъ (stęgŭ)
  • Belarusian: сцяг (scjah)
  • Russian: стяг (stjag)
  • Ukrainian: стяг (stjah)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: стяг (stjag) (archaic)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: сте̑г (Ekavian), стије̑г (Ijekavian)

    Latin: stȇg (Ekavian), stijȇg (Ijekavian)

• West Slavic: –

Non-Slavic descendants:

• ⇒ Romanian: steag

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “стяг”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Todorov, T. A., Racheva, M., editors (2010), “стяг”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 7 (слòво – теря̀свам), Sofia: Prof. Marin Drinov Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 536
• Alexandr M. Moldovan (2016) “Восточнославянская лексика в переводе толкований Никиты Ираклийского на Слова Григория Богослова [East Slavic lexemes in the Slavic translation of Scholia in orationes Gregorii Nazianzeni by Nicetas of Heracleia]”, in Труды Института русского языка им. В. В. Виноградова: История русского языка и культуры. Памяти Виктора Марковича Живова. [Proceedings of the V. V. Vinogradov Russian Language Institute: History of the Russian language and culture. In memoriam Viktor M. Zhivov.], number 9, Moscow, page 77