Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/-ostь

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 forms

(after soft, palatal consonants): *-estь

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *-astis, from Proto-Indo-European *-Hostis. Cognate with Lithuanian -astis. There are several theories of origin:

Cognate with Hittite [script needed] (-ašti) (in [script needed] n (dalugašti-, “length”) < [script needed] pl (dalugaeš, “long”, adj.)).
According to Halla-Aho, by double suffixation */-ot-tь/. e.g. *dobrъ → *dobrota → *dobrostь.

Has a reconstructed valence “−” (minus), that is, the accent paradigm c.

Suffix

*-ostь f

Used with adjectival stems to form abstract nouns; -ness
‎*čìstъ + ‎*-ostь → ‎*čìstostь

‎*jȗnъ + ‎*-ostь → ‎*junostь

‎*krě̑pъ + ‎*-ostь → ‎*krě̑postь

‎*mǫ̃drъ + ‎*-ostь → ‎*mǫdròstь

‎*ràdъ + ‎*-ostь → ‎*ràdostь

‎*stàrъ + ‎*-ostь → ‎*stàrostь

Declension

Declension of *-ȍstь (i-stem, accent paradigm c)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*-ȍstь	*-ȍsti	*-ȍsti
genitive	*-ostí	-ostьjù, -osťu^*	*-ostь̀jь
dative	*-ȍsti	*-ostьmà	*-ȍstьmъ
accusative	*-ȍstь	*-ȍsti	*-ȍsti
instrumental	*-ostьjǫ́	*-ostьmà	*-ostьmì
locative	*-ostí	-ostьjù, -osťu^*	*-ȍstьxъ
vocative	*-osti	*-ȍsti	*-ȍsti

^* 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).

Usage notes

This suffix was used after hard consonants, as opposed to the variant form *-estь that was used with stems ending in a soft, palatal consonant.

Derived terms

Proto-Slavic terms suffixed with *-ostь

Descendants

East Slavic:
- Belarusian: -асць (-ascʹ) (unstressed), -осць (-oscʹ) (stressed) (obsolete spellings: -асьць (-asʹcʹ)/-осьць (-osʹcʹ))
- Russian: -ость (-ostʹ)
- Ukrainian: -ість (-istʹ) (genitive: -ості (-osti))
South Slavic:
- Old Church Slavonic:
  Cyrillic: -ость (-ostĭ)
  
  Glagolitic: -ⱁⱄⱅⱐ (-ostĭ)
- Bulgarian: -ост (-ost)
- Macedonian: -ост (-ost)
- Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic script: -ост
  
  Latin script: -ost
- Slovene: -ost
West Slavic:
- Czech: -ost
- Lower Sorbian: -osć
- Polish: -ość
- Slovak: -osť
- Upper Sorbian: -osć

References

Witczak, Krzysztof Tomasz (2002), Indo-European abstracta ending with -osti-: the Ossetic evidence, Lingua Posnaniensis 44, p. 175-179
Vaillant, André (1974), Grammaire comparée des langues slaves, tome IV. Paris, p. 373-377
Arumaa, Peeter (1985), Urslavische Grammatik, Band III. Heidelberg. p. 46
Birnbaum, Henrik & Jos Schaeken (1997) Das altkirchenslavische Wort: Bildung - Bedeutung - Herleitung. (Slavistische Beiträge, 348.) München. p.50
Halla-aho, Jussi (2006) Problems of Proto-Slavic Historical Nominal Morphology: On the Basis of Old Church Slavic (Slavica Helsingiensia; 26), Helsinki: University of Helsinki, page 51
Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1978), “*dьlgostь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 5 (*dělo – *dьržьlь), Moscow: Nauka, page 207

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