Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/kopriva
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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
By surface *koprъ (“dill”) + *-ivъ + *-a, probably from the original sense steaming, scalding found in the root *kopněti (“to melt (for snow), to hope”), *kypěti (“to boil up”), because of the burning feel on the human skin on touch of this plant. For similar semantic development, compare dial. Czech žeřica (“nettle”) (from Proto-Slavic *žarъ (“embers”)), German Brennnessel (“nettle”) (from German brennen (“to burn”)), Dutch brandnetel from branden (“to burn”), Latin ūrtīca from ūrere (“to burn”). Unlikely from the sense aroma applied in *koprъ and attested in the related lemmas Lithuanian kvãpas (“aroma”), Lithuanian kvėpti (“to smell, to breath”), since nettle does not have any particular smell.
A secondary reason of the relation to *koprъ (“dill”) may be the use of both as a food supplement.
The form *kropiva to which some forms point is modelled after *kropiti (“to besprinkle”) conceiving the crop’s conspicuous manner of distribution.
Alternative forms
- *kropiva
Inflection
| singular | dual | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | *kopriva | *koprivě | *koprivy |
| genitive | *koprivy | *koprivu | *koprivъ |
| dative | *koprivě | *koprivama | *koprivamъ |
| accusative | *koprivǫ | *koprivě | *koprivy |
| instrumental | *koprivojǫ, *koprivǫ** | *koprivama | *koprivami |
| locative | *koprivě | *koprivu | *koprivasъ, *koprivaxъ* |
| vocative | *koprivo | *koprivě | *koprivy |
** 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
- *koprivьnъ (relational adjective)
Related terms
Descendants
- East Slavic:
- South Slavic:
- West Slavic:
Further reading
- Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1984), “*kopriva”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 11 (*konьcь – *kotьna(ja)), Moscow: Nauka, page 25
- Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1979), “коприва, покрива”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volumes 2 (и – крепя̀), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, page 619