Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/zěnica

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

The pupil is the central transparent area (showing as black).

Alternative forms

• *zěnьka, *zěnъka

Etymology

Substantivized participle **zěnъ +‎ *-ica, from **zěti (“to gape”) (compare *zěvati).

Noun

*zěnica f

1. (anatomy) pupil

Declension

Declension of *zěnica (soft a-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*zěnica	*zěnici	*zěnicę̇
genitive	*zěnicę̇	*zěnicu	*zěnicь
dative	*zěnici	*zěnicama	*zěnicamъ
accusative	*zěnicǫ	*zěnici	*zěnicę̇
instrumental	*zěnicejǫ, *zěnicǫ**	*zěnicama	*zěnicami
locative	*zěnici	*zěnicu	*zěnicasъ, *zěnicaxъ*
vocative	*zěnice	*zěnici	*zěnicę̇

^* -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).

Related terms

• *zěvati (“to yawn”) (pres. *zěvajǫ)
• *zijati, *zьjati (“to open (one's mouth), gape, be wide open)”) (pres. *zějǫ)
• *zinǫti (“to open (one's mouth), gape”) (pres. *zinǫ)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: зѣница (zěnica)
    • Old Ruthenian: зѣница (zěnica)
      • Belarusian: зяні́ца (zjaníca)
      • Ukrainian: зіни́ця (zinýcja)
    • Russian: зени́ца (zeníca)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Glagolitic script: ⰸⱑⱀⰹⱌⰰ (zěnica)

    Old Cyrillic script: зѣница (zěnica)

    • Bulgarian: зени́ца (zeníca)
    • Macedonian: зеница (zenica)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: зјѐница, зѐница

    Latin script: zjènica, zènica

  • Slovene: zeníca (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: zenice
  • Old Polish: źrzenica (influenced by źrzeć (“to see, look at”))
    • Polish: źrenica

References

• Derksen, Rick (2008) Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 542
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “зеница”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Chernykh, P. Ja. (1993) “зеница”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), 3rd edition, volumes 1 (а – пантомима), Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 324