-ш

Bulgarian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Slavic *-ьšь (“comparative suffix”). Used to form the comparative degree of adjectives, nowadays formed with the prefix по́- (pó-).

Suffix

-ш • (-š)

1. (dated, unproductive) Forms secondary adjectives with comparative meaning:

   ви́сен (vísen, “elevated”) (obsolete) → висш (visš, “superior”)

   ни́сък (nísǎk, “low”) → нисш (nisš, “inferior”)

   стар (star, “old, mature”) → старш (starš, “senior”)

   млад (mlad, “young, inexperienced”) → младш (mladš, “junior”)

   вели́к (velík, “great”) → велича́йш (veličájš, “majestic, superior”) (poetic)

   благ (blag, “polite”) → блаже́йш (blažéjš, “very noble, honorable”) (poetic)

Usage notes

Adjectives that had been extended diachronically with a secondary element such as -ен (-en) (from earlier i-stem adjectival declension), -ък (-ǎk) (from earlier u-stem adjectival declension) drop the secondary element when the comparative -ш (-š) is applied.

Derived terms

• -айшество (-ajšestvo), -ейшество (-ejšestvo, “-ness”)

Further reading

• Duridanov, Iv. (1991) “Степени на сравнение на прилагателни имена”, in Граматика на Старобългарския език‎^[1], Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, page 197

Etymology 2

From Proto-Slavic *-(v)ъšь, past active participle ending.

Suffix

-ш • (-š)

1. Alternative form of -вш (-vš)