Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/dira

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 the intensive stem *dir- + *-a of Proto-Slavic *dьrati (“to tear”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *der- (“to tear”).

Derksen tentatively mentions a possible influence from Proto-Indo-European *deyH-r- (“to appear, to illuminate”), whence Lithuanian dyrėti (“to look for”).

Noun

*dìra f

1. crack, snick, notch

   Synonyms: *rězъ, *pazina, *želbъ

2. (by extension) trace, trail

   Synonyms: *slědъ, *traga

Declension

Declension of *dira (hard a-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*dira	*dirě	*diry
genitive	*diry	*diru	*dirъ
dative	*dirě	*dirama	*diramъ
accusative	*dirǫ	*dirě	*diry
instrumental	*dirojǫ, *dirǫ**	*dirama	*dirami
locative	*dirě	*diru	*dirasъ, *diraxъ*
vocative	*diro	*dirě	*diry

^* -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

• *diřa (ja-stem)
• *děra (enlonged e-grade)
• *dyra (hard reflex)

Derived terms

• *diriti, *diřati (causative-iterative)

Related terms

• *derti, *dьrati (“to tear, to flay”)
• *derъ, *derьba (“skinning, flaying”)
• *dorъ (“tearing, split”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: дира (dira)
    • Old Ruthenian: дира́ (dirá)
      • Belarusian: дзіра́ (dzirá)
    • Russian: дира́ (dirá) (dialectal)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic: дира (dira), дирꙗ (dirja)
  • Bulgarian: ди́ря (dírja), dial. ди́ра (díra)
  • Macedonian: дира (dira) (dialectal)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: ди̏рa, ди̑ра

    Latin script: dȉra, dȋra

  • Slovene: dírja (“trot”)
• West Slavic:
  • Polabian: dară

• Non-Slavic:
  • → Romanian: dâră

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1978), “*dira”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 5 (*dělo – *dьržьlь), Moscow: Nauka, page 30
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1978), “*diŕa”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 5 (*dělo – *dьržьlь), Moscow: Nauka, page 31
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “диря”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 396
• Snoj, Marko (2016) “dirjati”, in Slovenski etimološki slovar [Slovenian Etymology Dictionary] (in Slovene), 3rd edition, https://fran.si