Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/xvostъ

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

From a dubious root + *-stъ. Proposed etymologies include:

• From Proto-Indo-European *ksew- (“to scrape, to trim”), akin to Proto-Slavic *xusta (“neckpiece, headscarf”).
• From Proto-Indo-European *keh₂w- (“to waver, to flicker”), akin to Latin cauda (“tail”), possibly Lithuanian kuõdas (“tuft”). Favoured by Mladenov.

Sometimes compared with Proto-Germanic *kwastuz (“tassel”) (as per Machek, Sławski, Vaillant), even though formally incompatible.

Noun

*xvȍstъ m

1. bundle, sheaf
2. tail (bundle of hair)

   Synonyms: *rěpъ, *kystь

Declension

Declension of *xvòstъ (hard o-stem, accent paradigm b)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*xvòstъ	*xvostà	*xvostì
genitive	*xvostà	*xvostù	*xvòstъ
dative	*xvostù	*xvostòma	*xvostòmъ
accusative	*xvòstъ	*xvostà	*xvostỳ
instrumental	*xvostъ̀mь, *xvostòmь*	*xvostòma	*xvòsty
locative	*xvostě̀	*xvostù	*xvòstěxъ
vocative	*xvoste	*xvostà	*xvostì

^* -ъmь in North Slavic, -omь in South Slavic.

Derived terms

• *xvostati (“to lash, to gush”)
• *xvosta (collective)
• *xvostьcь (diminutive)
• *xvostuxa (“animal with fluffy tail”)
• *xvoščь (“bunch, cluster; snake grass (plant)”)
• *xvostatъ (relative adjective)

Related terms

• *xvastъ (“boast”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: хвостъ (xvostŭ)
    • Belarusian: хвост (xvost)
    • Russian: хвост (xvost)
    • Ukrainian: хвіст (xvist)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic: хвостъ (xvostŭ)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: хо̏ст, ху̑ст (dialectal)

    Latin script: hȍst, hȗst (dialectal)

  • Slovene: hȏst (tonal orthography), hvọ̑st
    • ⇒ Slovene: họ̑sta f
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: chvost
    • Czech: chvost, chůst
  • Polish: chwost
  • Slovak: chvost

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “хвост”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1981), “*xvostъ”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 8 (*xa – *jьvьlga), Moscow: Nauka, page 133