Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/-ostь

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

Alternative forms

• (after soft, palatal consonants): *-estь

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *-astis, from Proto-Indo-European *-Hostis. Cognate with Lithuanian -astis. There are several theories of origin:

• Cognate with Hittite [script needed] (-ašti) (in [script needed] n (dalugašti-, “length”) < [script needed] pl (dalugaeš, “long”, adj.)).
• According to Halla-Aho, by double suffixation */-ot-tь/. e.g. *dobrъ → *dobrota → *dobrostь.

Has a reconstructed valence “−” (minus), that is, the accent paradigm c.

Suffix

*-ostь f

1. Used with adjectival stems to form abstract nouns; -ness

   ‎*čìstъ + ‎*-ostь → ‎*čìstostь

   ‎*jȗnъ + ‎*-ostь → ‎*junostь

   ‎*krě̑pъ + ‎*-ostь → ‎*krě̑postь

   ‎*mǫ̃drъ + ‎*-ostь → ‎*mǫdròstь

   ‎*ràdъ + ‎*-ostь → ‎*ràdostь

   ‎*stàrъ + ‎*-ostь → ‎*stàrostь

Declension

Declension of *-ȍstь (i-stem, accent paradigm c)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*-ȍstь	*-ȍsti	*-ȍsti
genitive	*-ostí	*-ostьjù, *-osťu*	*-ostь̀jь
dative	*-ȍsti	*-ostьmà	*-ȍstьmъ
accusative	*-ȍstь	*-ȍsti	*-ȍsti
instrumental	*-ostьjǫ́	*-ostьmà	*-ostьmì
locative	*-ostí	*-ostьjù, *-osťu*	*-ȍstьxъ
vocative	*-osti	*-ȍsti	*-ȍsti

^* 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).

Usage notes

This suffix was used after hard consonants, as opposed to the variant form *-estь that was used with stems ending in a soft, palatal consonant.

Derived terms

Proto-Slavic terms suffixed with *-ostь

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Belarusian: -асць (-ascʹ) (unstressed), -осць (-oscʹ) (stressed) (obsolete spellings: -асьць (-asʹcʹ)/-осьць (-osʹcʹ))
  • Russian: -ость (-ostʹ)
  • Ukrainian: -ість (-istʹ) (genitive: -ості (-osti))
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Cyrillic: -ость (-ostĭ)

    Glagolitic: -ⱁⱄⱅⱐ (-ostĭ)

  • Bulgarian: -ост (-ost)
  • Macedonian: -ост (-ost)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: -ост

    Latin script: -ost

  • Slovene: -ost
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: -ost
  • Lower Sorbian: -osć
  • Polish: -ość
  • Slovak: -osť
  • Upper Sorbian: -osć

References

• Witczak, Krzysztof Tomasz (2002), Indo-European abstracta ending with -osti-: the Ossetic evidence, Lingua Posnaniensis 44, p. 175-179
• Vaillant, André (1974), Grammaire comparée des langues slaves, tome IV. Paris, p. 373-377
• Arumaa, Peeter (1985), Urslavische Grammatik, Band III. Heidelberg. p. 46
• Birnbaum, Henrik & Jos Schaeken (1997) Das altkirchenslavische Wort: Bildung - Bedeutung - Herleitung. (Slavistische Beiträge, 348.) München. p.50
• Halla-aho, Jussi (2006) Problems of Proto-Slavic Historical Nominal Morphology: On the Basis of Old Church Slavic (Slavica Helsingiensia; 26), Helsinki: University of Helsinki, page 51
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1978), “*dьlgostь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 5 (*dělo – *dьržьlь), Moscow: Nauka, page 207