Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/-ežь

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

According to Matasović, the origin of the suffix is unclear. He dismisses an old theory due to Vaillant for borrowing ultimately from Vulgar Latin -āgium, because there are not any loanwords in proto-Slavic which display this suffix.

Suffix

*-ežь m

1. Deverbal, forming action nouns.

   From verbs ending in -C-

   */padti/ > *pasti (“to fall”) → *padežь (“fall”)

   */mętti/ > *męsti (“to mix”) → *mętežь (“chaos, confusion”)

   *sluti (“to utter”) → *slovežь (“utterance”)

   *orsti (“to grow, to rise”) → *orstežь (“growth”)

   From verbs ending in -i-

   *grabiti (“to grab, to seize”) → *grabežь (“grabbing”)

   *paliti (“to ignite, to set on fire”) → *paležь (“arson”)

   From verbs ending in -a-

   *drapati (“to scratch”) → *drapežь (“plunder”)

   *čьrtati (“to draw”) → *čьrtežь (“sketch”)

2. Deadjectival, forming abstract or agent nouns.

   *moldъ (“young”) → *moldežь (“youth”)

Usage notes

• Usually it's not used with roots ending in g/k/x/s/z.
• Words derived with *-ežь sometimes have pejorative connotation.

Declension

Declension of *-ežь (soft o-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*-ežь	*-eža	*-eži
genitive	*-eža	*-ežu	*-ežь
dative	*-ežu	*-ežema	*-ežemъ
accusative	*-ežь	*-eža	*-ežę̇
instrumental	*-ežьmь, *-ežemь*	*-ežema	*-eži
locative	*-eži	*-ežu	*-ežixъ
vocative	*-ežu	*-eža	*-eži

^* -ьmь in North Slavic, -emь in South Slavic.

Alternative forms

• *-ěžь

Derived terms

Proto-Slavic terms suffixed with *-ežь

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: -ежь (-ežĭ)
    • Belarusian: -еж (-jež), -ёж (-jož)
    • Russian: -ёжь (-jóžʹ), -ёж (-jóž), -еж (-ež)
    • Ukrainian: -іж (-iž)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: -єжь (-ežĭ)

    Glagolitic script: -ⰵⰶⱐ (-ežĭ)

  • Bulgarian: -еж (-ež)
  • Macedonian: -еж (-ež)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: -еж

    Latin script: -ež

  • Slovene: -ež
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: -ež
  • Kashubian: -éż, -éżô, -ża
  • Polish: -eż
  • Slovak: -ež
  • Slovincian: -éż

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1975), “*bodežь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 2 (*bez – *bratrъ), Moscow: Nauka, page 152
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1980), “*gorěžь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 7 (*golvačь – *gyžati), Moscow: Nauka, page 43
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1980), “*grabežь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 7 (*golvačь – *gyžati), Moscow: Nauka, page 96

References

• Šekli, Matej (2012) “Besedotvorni pomeni samostalniških izpeljank v praslovanščini”, in Philological Studies‎^[1] (in Slovene), volume 10, number 1, Skopje, Perm, Ljubljana, Zagreb, pages 115–32
• Matasović, Ranko (2014) “*-ežь < *-ezja-”, in Slavic Nominal Word-formation: Proto-Indo-European Origins and Historical Development (Empirie und Theorie der Sprachwissenschaft; 3), Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, →ISBN, page 130