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

*ežь (Erinaceus concolor)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Balto-Slavic *eźis, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰis (“hedgehog”). Compare with *ǵʰḗr.

Baltic cognates include Lithuanian ežys, regional ẽżis and Latvian ezis. Other Indo-European cognates include Phrygian ἔξις (éxis) (read ἔζις (ézis)), Ancient Greek ἐχῖνος (ekhînos), Old English igil (English ile), Old High German igil (German Igel), Old Armenian ոզնի (ozni), Old Norse ígull, Ossetian уызын (wyzyn), Albanian eshk.

Noun

*ežь m

1. hedgehog

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.

Derived terms

• *ežakъ, *ežikъ (diminutive)
• *eževъ(jь)
  • *eževica, *eževika
  • *eževina
• *ežica, *ežika
• *ežina
• *ežiti (sę)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: ежь (ežĭ), ожь (ožĭ)
    • Old Ruthenian: єжъ (jež), ѣжъ (jěž)
      • Carpathian Rusyn: ї́жо (jížo)
      • Ukrainian: їж (již), їжо́ (jižó), іж (iž), іжо́ (ižó), ож (ož) (dialectal)
    • Middle Russian: ежъ (jež), ожъ (ož)
      • Russian: ёж (jož); еж (jež) (dialectal); іож (iož), йож (jož), иож (iož), ежь (ježʹ) (dated)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:
    • Church Slavonic: ѥжь (ježĭ) (Serbian)
  • Bulgarian: еж (ež); еш (eš) (dialectal)
    • ⇒ Bulgarian: таралеж (taralež)
  • Macedonian: еж (ež)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: је̑ж; је̑жа (dialectal)

    Latin script: jȇž; jȇža (dialectal)

  • Slovene: jẹ̄ž
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: jež (dialectal)
  • Kashubian: jéż
  • Polabian: jiz
  • Old Polish: jeż
    • Polish: jeż; wież, wjiż (dialectal)
  • Old Slovak: jež
    • Pannonian Rusyn: їж (již)
    • Slovak: jež, jiš (dialectal)
  • Slovincian: jéż
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: jaž, jež
    • Upper Sorbian: jěž

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1979), “*ežь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков (in Russian), numbers 6 (*e – *golva), Moscow: Nauka, page 37
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “ёж”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1985), “їж”, in Етимологічний словник української мови (in Ukrainian), volume 2 (Д – Копці), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, page 323