Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/zajęcь

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

*zàję̄cь sědĩtь nȃ stьrni

Etymology

From an earlier *zajękъ (still reflected in Bulgarian and Macedonian), via progressive palatalization. Possibly inherited from Proto-Balto-Slavic *źṓˀjinkas, cognate with dial. Lithuanian zuĩkis < *zuojįkas (however, not Latvian zaķis, which looks like a Slavic borrowing). Further origin uncertain:

• Mladenov, Vasmer, Snoj: Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰey-, *ǵʰeh₂y- (“to dash, to hurtle, to hop”), akin to Lithuanian žaĩsti (“to play around”) and Old Armenian ձի (ji, “horse”), Proto-Indo-Iranian *ȷ́ʰáyas (< Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéyos). From the same root may also be Proto-Germanic *gaits (“goat”), Latin haedus (“buck”).
• Löwenthal: From Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂- (“to nourish, earth”) whence Ancient Greek γῆ (gê, “Earth”) (possibly Ancient Greek γᾰ́λᾰ (gála)). Dismissed by Vasmer.

Shares ending with Proto-Slavic *měsęcь (“month”), *koręcь (“root”), probably resultant from a k-extension over an older n-stem. Further attested in animal names: e.g. Bulgarian пуяк ~ пуек (pujak ~ puek, “male fowl”), суяк ~ суек (sujak ~ suek, “ground squirrel”), dial. козяк ~ козек (kozjak ~ kozek, “buck”); and in diminutives: e.g. Bulgarian ма́лечко (málečko), па́лечко (pálečko) < мале (male), пале (pale) + *-ęč-ьko.

Noun

*zàję̄cь m

1. rabbit, hare

Alternative forms

It is likely that such a form did not exist, where a morphological replacement of the suffix simply took place.

• *zàjьcь

Declension

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

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*zàję̄cь	*zàję̄ca	*zàję̄ci
genitive	*zàję̄ca	*zàję̄cu	*zàję̄cь
dative	*zàję̄cu	*zàję̄cema	*zàję̄cēmъ
accusative	*zàję̄cь	*zàję̄ca	*zàję̄cę̇
instrumental	*zàję̄cьmь, *zàję̄cemь*	*zàję̄cema	*zàję̄cī
locative	*zàję̄ci	*zàję̄cu	*zàję̄cīxъ
vocative	*zàję̄če	*zàję̄ca	*zàję̄ci

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

Derived terms

adjectives

• *zajęcevъ
• *zajęčь
• *zajęčьskъ
• *zajęčьstъ

 

nouns

• *zajęčařь

 

Related terms

nouns

• *zajьčę
• *zajьka
• *zajukъ

 

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: заѧць (zajęcĭ), заець (zajecĭ)
    • Old Ruthenian: за́ѧцъ (zájacʹ), за́єцъ (zájecʹ), за́ѧць (zájacʹ), за́єць (zájecʹ)
      • Belarusian: за́яц (zájac)
      • Carpathian Rusyn: за́яць (zájacʹ)
      • Ukrainian: за́єць (zájecʹ); за́яць (zájacʹ), за́яєць (zájajecʹ) (dialectal)
    • Middle Russian: за́ѧцъ (zájac), за́ецъ (zájec)
      • Russian: за́яц (zájac); за́ец (zájec) (dialect); зай (zaj) (Pskov dialect)
  • Old Novgorodian: ꙁаѩць (zajęćĭ)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: заѩць (zajęcĭ)

    Glagolitic script: ⰸⰰⱗⱌⱐ (zajęcĭ)

  • Bulgarian: за́ец (záec) (obsolete), за́ек (záek); dial. зо́ек (zóek), зо́як (zójak) (Torlak dialects), за́енц (záenc) (dialectal)
  • Macedonian: зајак (zajak)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: зе̑ц, за̀јац

    Latin script: zȇc, zàjac

  • Slovene: zȃjəc, zẹ̑c (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: zajiec
    • Czech: zajíc
      • Bohemian (Chod dialect): zajíc
  • Kashubian: zajc
  • Polabian: zojąc
  • Old Polish: zając
    • Polish: zając
  • Old Slovak: zajac
    • Pannonian Rusyn: заяц (zajac)
    • Slovak: zajac
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: zajac
    • Lower Sorbian: zajec (dialectal)

References

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “заяц”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Brückner, Aleksander (1927) “zając”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish), Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna, page 643
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “заек”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 587