Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/staja

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

Object noun of *stati (“to stand”) +‎ *-ja. Related to Lithuanian stójus (rare), stotìs (“station”) and further akin to Proto-Germanic *stiją (“sty, shelter”).

A homomorphous resultant noun is attested in Polish staja f, staje n (“span, unit of measure”), Ukrainian ста́я (stája, “id.”).

Noun

*stàja f

1. stall, station → compartment

   Synonyms: *stojidlo, *stajadlo

2. (by extension) sty, barn, stable (stall for livestock)

   → herd, flock (East Slavic)

   Synonyms: *stado, *čьrda

Declension

Declension of *staja (soft a-stem, accent paradigm a)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*staja	*stàji	*stàję̇
genitive	*stàję̇	*stàju	*stàjь
dative	*stàjī	*stàjama	*stàjāmъ
accusative	*stàjǫ	*stàji	*stàję̇
instrumental	*stàjējǫ, *stàjǭ*	*stàjama	*stàjāmī
locative	*stàjī	*stàju	*stàjāsъ
vocative	*stàje	*stàji	*stàję̇

^* 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).

Derived terms

• *stajica, *stajьka (diminutive)
• *stajьnъ

Related terms

Proto-Slavic terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *steh₂- (0 c, 12 e)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: стаꙗ (staja)
    • Belarusian: ста́я (stája, “herd”), ста́йня (stájnja, “stable”)
      • → Lithuanian: staĩnė (“stable”)
    • Russian: ста́я (stája, “herd, flock”)
    • Ukrainian: ста́я (stája, “shepherd's hut”), ста́йня (stájnja, “stable”)
• South Slavic
  • Old Church Slavonic: стаꙗ (staja)
  • Bulgarian: ста́я (stája, “room”)
  • Macedonian: стаја (staja) (dialectal)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: ста̏ја

    Latin script: stȁja

  • Slovene: stája (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: stájě
    • Czech: stáj m or f (standard), stáje f (alternative)
  • Old Slovak: staja, stajňa
    • Slovak: stajňa

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “стая”, 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), “стая”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 7 (слòво – теря̀свам), Sofia: Prof. Marin Drinov Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 439