Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/borna

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

ESSJa treats it as as a single headword, Derksen as two (separating meanings "harrow" and "guarded entrance, barrier"), and Sławski as three ("harrow", "defended/defending object" and "membrane").

The meaning "harrow" is from Proto-Indo-European *bʰorh₃neh₂, o-grade derivation from *bʰerh₃- (“to hit with a sharp instrument”). Cognates include Latin forō (“to bore, pierce”), Old Norse bora (“to bore, drill”) and Ancient Greek φάρω (phárō), φάρος (pháros). From the same root also Common Slavic *bьrdo (“weaving comb, reed”), *boriti sę (“to fight”), and *borzda (“furrow”).

Sławski derives the set of meanings "protection, guard, defense; object of protecting, defending, gate, dam, barrier, fortification" as an action noun of the verb *borniti (“to guard, protect, defend”). Derksen legitimizes separate treatment due to the semantic difficulties of connecting Common Slavic *borti (“to fight, conquer”) as well as other Indo-European cognates (Latin feriō (“to hit, strike”), Old Norse berja (“to beat, hit”)) with the root *bʰerh₃- (“to hit with a sharp instrument”).

The third separate meaning "membrane" (on the basis of Czech bránice (“membrane, diaphragm”), Slovak branica (“membrane”) and Slovene brána, bránica (“membrane”) is with uncertainty reconstructed by Sławski, with various explanations of origin.

Note that Ukrainian distinguishes борона́ (boroná, “harrow”) from боро́на (boróna, “defense”).

Noun

*bōrnà or *bornà f

1. harrow
2. guarded entrance, protection, barrier, defense
3. (by extension) the object being defended/restrained or defending/restraining, especially fortified gate, dam, dike etc.

Declension

Declension of *bōrnà (hard a-stem, accent paradigm b)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*bōrnà	*bõrně	*bōrnỳ
genitive	*bōrnỳ	*bōrnù	*bõrnъ
dative	*bōrně̀	*bōrnàma	*bōrnàmъ
accusative	*bōrnǫ̀	*bõrně	*bōrnỳ
instrumental	*bōrnòjǫ, *bõrnǫ**	*bōrnàma	*bōrnàmī
locative	*bōrně̀	*bōrnù	*bōrnàsъ, *bōrnàxъ*
vocative	*borno	*bõrně	*bōrnỳ

^* -asъ is the expected Balto-Slavic form but is found only in some Old Czech documents; -axъ is found everywhere else and is formed by analogy with other locative plurals in -xъ.
^** 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).

Declension of *bornà (hard a-stem, accent paradigm c)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*bornà	*bȏrně	*bȏrny
genitive	*borný	*bornù	*bõrnъ
dative	*borně̀	*bornàma	*bornàmъ
accusative	*bȏrnǫ	*bȏrně	*bȏrny
instrumental	*bornojǫ́	*bornàma	*bornàmi
locative	*bȏrně	*bornù	*bornàsъ, *bornàxъ*
vocative	*borno	*bȏrně	*bȏrny

^* -asъ is the expected Balto-Slavic form but is found only in some Old Czech documents; -axъ is found everywhere else and is formed by analogy with other locative plurals in -xъ.

Related terms

• *bornь (“standoff, battle”)
• *zaborna (“prohibition”)
• *vъzborna (“interdict, veto”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: борона (borona)
    • Belarusian: барана́ (baraná)
    • Russian: борона́ (boroná)
      • ⇒ Russian: боро́нка (borónka) (dialectal)
    • Old Ukrainian: борона́ (boroná)
      • Carpathian Rusyn: борона́ (boroná)
      • Ukrainian: боро́на (boróna), борона́ (boroná)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: бра́на (brána); брана́ (braná) (dialectal)
  • Macedonian: брана (brana)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: бра́на; бра̑на (dialectal)

    Latin script: brána; brȃna (dialectal)

  • Slovene: brána
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: brána
    • Czech: brána, brány pl
    • → Polish: brama
      • → Belarusian: бра́ма (bráma)
      • → Ukrainian: бра́ма (bráma)
  • Kashubian: barna, bróna
  • Polabian: bornă
  • Old Polish: brona
    • Polish: brona
  • Slovak: brána, brány pl; brani pl (dialectal)
  • Slovincian: bǻrnă
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: brona
    • Upper Sorbian: bróna

• → Hungarian: borona

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “борона”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1975), “*borna”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 2 (*bez – *bratrъ), Moscow: Nauka, page 204
• Sławski, Franciszek, editor (1974), “*borna”, in Słownik prasłowiański [Proto-Slavic Dictionary] (in Polish), volumes 1 (a – bьzděti), Wrocław: Ossolineum, page 324
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “брана”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volumes 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 74