Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/kъňiga

This Proto-Slavic entry contains reconstructed words 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

There are multiple theories:

• Borrowed either from Old High German kenning (“symbol, sign”) or from a different Germanic source (compare Gothic 𐌺𐌿𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (kunnan, “to know”) and Old Norse kunna (“to know”)).
• From Akkadian 𒁾 (kunukku, “seal-cylinder, kunukku”) or 𒅎𒋃𒊒𒊒𒁀 (kanīku, “sealed object: document, sack bulla, etc.”), via Old Armenian կնիք (knikʿ, “seal”).
• Ultimate Chinese origin, from 卷 (Middle Chinese kɣiuᴇn^X, kɣiuᴇn^H < Old Chinese *krorʔ (“to roll up”), *kror-s (“scroll”)), as paper was invented in China around the 1st century AD. However, this seems less likely due to the likely temporal precedence of Proto-Slavic over Early Middle Chinese and the large spatial separation of the donor and recipient languages.

The second and third theories require transmission by a Turkic or an Iranian language, but nothing is attested in them. Although sometimes cited, Chuvash кӗнеке (kĕneke) and Ossetian чиныг (ḱinyg), киунугӕ (kiwnugæ) are both considered early Slavic loans. However, Hungarian könyv (“book”) and Erzya конёв (konjov, “paper”), which are unlikely to derive from Slavic, testify to the early presence of this word in the Volga region.

Noun

*kъňìga f

1. book

Declension

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

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*kъňìga	*kъňìdzě	*kъňìgy
Accusative	*kъňìgǫ	*kъňìdzě	*kъňìgy
Genitive	*kъňìgy	*kъňìgu	*kъňìgъ
Locative	*kъňìdzě	*kъňìgu	*kъňìgasъ, *kъňìgaxъ*
Dative	*kъňìdzě	*kъňìgama	*kъňìgamъ
Instrumental	*kъňìgojǫ, *kъňìgǭ**	*kъňìgama	*kъňìgamī
Vocative	*kъňìgo	*kъňìdzě	*kъňìgy

^* -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).

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: кънига (kŭniga)
    • Belarusian: кні́га (kníha)
    • Russian: кни́га (kníga) (see there for further descendants)
    • Rusyn: кни́жка (knýžka)
    • Ukrainian: кни́га (knýha)
    • → Ossetian:

      Iron: чиныг (ḱinyg)

      Digor: киунугӕ (kiwnugæ), кинугӕ (kinugæ)

• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic: кън҄ига (kŭnʹiga)

    Glagolitic: ⰽⱏⱀⰻⰳⰰ (kŭniga)

  • Bulgarian: кни́га (kníga)
  • Macedonian: книга (kniga)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic: књи̏га

    Latin: knjȉga

  • Slovene: knjíga (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Kashubian: knëga, knyga, knéga, knéżka
  • Polish: księga, książka
  • Czech: kniha
  • Slovak: kniha
  • Slovincian: knega
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: knigła (archaic), knigły (plurale tantum)
    • Upper Sorbian: kniha
• → Erzya: конёв (konjov)
• → Hungarian: könyv
• → Lithuanian: knygà

Further reading

• Abajev, V. I. (1958) Istoriko-etimologičeskij slovarʹ osetinskovo jazyka [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Ossetian Language] (in Russian), volume 1, Moscow, Leningrad: USSR Academy of Sciences, page 596
• Ačaṙean, Hračʿeay (1971–1979) , “կնիք”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Dictionary of Armenian Root Words] (in Armenian), volume 2, 2nd edition, reprint of the original 1926–1935 seven-volume edition, Yerevan: University Press, page 609
• Berneker, Erich (1908–1913) Slavisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume I, Heidelberg: Winter, page 664
• Černyx, P. Ja. (1999) , “книга”, in Istoriko-etimologičeskij slovarʹ russkovo jazyka [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), volume 1, 3rd reprint edition, Moscow: Russkij jazyk, page 406
• Matzenauer, Antonín (1870) Cizí slova ve slovanských řečech [Foreign words in Slavic languages] (in Czech), Brno: Matica Moravská, page 43
• Cyganenko, G. B. (1989) , “книга”, in Etimologičeskij slovarʹ russkovo jazyka [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), 2nd edition, Kiev: Radjansʹka škola, page 179–180
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) , “книга”, in Etimologičeskij slovarʹ russkovo jazyka [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), translated from German and supplemented by Oleg Trubačóv, Moscow: Progress
• Trubačóv, Oleg, editor (1987) , “*kъniga”, in Etimologičeskij slovarʹ slavjanskix jazykov [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), volume 13, Moscow: Nauka, page 203