Киевъ

Old East Slavic

Alternative forms

• Кꙑевъ (Kyevŭ), Кꙑѥвъ (Kyjevŭ)

Etymology

Uncertain:

• Traditionally concidered to be derived from the city's founder Кии (Kii), meaning "Kyi's [city]". This has been dismissed by Michael Hrushevsky as folk etymology.
• According to Jaroslav Rudnyckyj and the Etymological Dictionary of Slavic Languages, the name derives from кии (kii, “pole”), maybe referring to the fact the city was palisaded by poles.
• Alternatively, related to the modern Ukrainian куява (kujava, “steep hill”) and Ukrainian куеви (kuevy, “mountain top”).

The first time mentioned in the Hebrew Kievan Letter, spelled as קייב. In the earliest Novgorod birch bark manuscripts spelled as Кꙑѥвъ (Kyjevŭ). Also mentioned by Constantine VII, the Byzantine Emperor.

Pronunciation

• (ca. 9^th CE) IPA^(key): /ˈkɪjɛʋʊ/, /ˈkijɛʋʊ/
• (ca. 11^th CE) IPA^(key): /ˈkɪjɛʋʊ/, /ˈkijɛʋʊ/
• (ca. 13^th CE) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛjɛːʋ/, /ˈkijɛːʋ/
• Hyphenation: Ки‧е‧въ

Proper noun

Киевъ (Kievŭ) m

1. Kiev (a city in Kievan Rus)
   • 1377, Dmitry of Suzdal, Laurentian Codex‎^[1], page 1:

     кто въ києвѣ нача первѣє кнѧжи^т и ѿкуду рускаꙗ ꙁемлѧ стала єсть⁘

     kto vŭ kievě nača pervěe knęži^t i otŭkudu ruskaja zemlę stala estĭ⁘

     Who in Kiev first started to reign and whence the Russian land has started to be.

Declension

Declension of Киевъ (hard o-stem)

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	Киевъ Kievŭ	— —	— —
Genitive	Киева Kieva	— —	— —
Dative	Киеву Kievu	— —	— —
Accusative	Киевъ Kievŭ	— —	— —
Instrumental	Киевъмь Kievŭmĭ	— —	— —
Locative	Киевѣ Kievě	— —	— —
Vocative	Киеве Kieve	— —	— —

Descendants

• Middle Russian: Киевъ (Kijev)
  • Russian: Ки́ев (Kíjev) (see there for further descendants)
• Old Ruthenian: Кїєвъ (Kijev), Кїѣвъ (Kijěv)
  • Belarusian: Кі́еў (Kíjeŭ)
  • Carpathian Rusyn: Ки́їв (Kýjiv)
  • Ukrainian: Ки́їв (Kýjiv) (see there for further descendants)
• →⇒ Old Norse: Kænugarðr
  • Icelandic: Kænugarður

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1987), “*Kyjevъ”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 13 (*kroměžirъ – *kyžiti), Moscow: Nauka, page 256
• Rudnyc'kyj, Ja. (1972–1982) “Ки́їв”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language, volumes 2 (Д – Ь), Ottawa: Ukrainian Mohylo-Mazepian Academy of Sciences; Ukrainian Language Association, →LCCN, page 660
• Stryzhak, O. S., editor (1985), “Кыєвъ”, in Етимологічний словник літописних географічних назв Південної Русі [Etymological Dictionary of Chronicle Geographical Names of Southern Rus'] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, page 77
• Luchyk, V. V. (2014) “Київ”, in Етимологічний словник топонімів України [Etymological Dictionary of Toponyms of Ukraine] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Academy, →ISBN, page 259