Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/želza

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 Proto-Indo-European *gʰelǵʰ-, related to Lithuanian gẽležuones, Old Armenian գեղձք (gełjkʻ).

Noun

*žēlzà f

1. gland

Declension

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

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*žēlzà	*žẽlzě	*žēlzỳ
genitive	*žēlzỳ	*žēlzù	*žẽlzъ
dative	*žēlzě̀	*žēlzàma	*žēlzàmъ
accusative	*žēlzǫ̀	*žẽlzě	*žēlzỳ
instrumental	*žēlzòjǫ, *žẽlzǫ**	*žēlzàma	*žēlzàmī
locative	*žēlzě̀	*žēlzù	*žēlzàsъ, *žēlzàxъ*
vocative	*želzo	*žẽlzě	*žēlzỳ

^* -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).

Alternative forms

• *želzda (expressive)
• *žьlza (Lechitic, Wendish)

Descendants

From full-grade *želza, *želzda:

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: желоза (želoza), железа (železa)
    • Belarusian: зало́за (zalóza); жало́за (žalóza) (dialectal)
    • Russian: железа́ (železá); за́леза́ (zálezá), золо́за́ (zolózá) (dialectal)
    • Ukrainian: за́лоза (záloza)
  • Old Novgorodian: зелеза (zeleza) (Old Pskovian)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: жлѣза (žlěza)

    Glagolitic script: ⰶⰾⱑⰸⰰ (žlěza)

  • Bulgarian: жлеза́ (žlezá); жле́га (žléga), жлю́га (žljúga) (dialectal)
  • Macedonian: жлезда (žlezda)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: жле́зда, жље́зда, жлије́зда

    Latin script: žlézda, žljézda, žlijézda

    • Chakavian (Grobnik): žlēzdȁ
    • Chakavian (Brest, Duga Resa): žlȇzdra
    • Chakavian (Mrkoči, Batlug, Istria): žlēzdȁ
    • Kajkavian (Varaždin): žlẹ̃zda
  • Slovene: žlẹ́za
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: žláza
    • Czech: žláza
      • Bohemian (Chod dialect): žleza
  • Slovak: žľaza

From zero-grade *žьlza:

• West Slavic:
  • Old Polish: zołzy f pl (“glandular infectious disease”)
    • Polish: zołza (epithet for “vicious woman”)
    • → Ukrainian: зо́лза (zólza)
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: žałza
    • Lower Sorbian: žałza, załza

References

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “железа́”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “жлеза, жлега”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volumes 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 550