Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/korva

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 Proto-Balto-Slavic *kárˀwāˀ, irregular centum reflex of Proto-Indo-European *ḱorh₂-weh₂, from *ḱerh₂- (“head, top; horn”).

Matasović (2008) argues that it was borrowed from Celtic in prehistorical times due to the impossibility of deriving it by regular sound laws:

PIE *ḱerh₂weh₂ > Proto-Celtic *kerawā > *karawā (Joseph's rule) > Early Proto-Slavic *karwā > Common Slavic *kőrva.

Alternatively, Matasović's Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (2009) lists the Old Church Slavonic form krava “cow” as being related to the Proto-Celtic *karwo- (“deer”), ultimately coming from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (the first element of *ḱerh₂weh₂).

Baltic cognates (either similarly irregularly inherited via Balto-Slavic, or borrowed from Celtic or Slavic) include Lithuanian kárvė (“cow”) and Old Prussian curwis (“ox”). For further Indo-European cognates see *ḱerh₂-.

Noun

*kòrva f^[1]^[2]^[3]

cow

Inflection

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

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*kòrva	*kòrvě	*kòrvy
genitive	*kòrvy	*kòrvu	*kòrvъ
dative	*kòrvě	*kòrvama	*kòrvamъ
accusative	*kòrvǫ	*kòrvě	*kòrvy
instrumental	kòrvojǫ, kòrvǭ^**	*kòrvama	*kòrvamī
locative	*kòrvě	*kòrvu	kòrvasъ, kòrvaxъ^*
vocative	*kòrvo	*kòrvě	*kòrvy

^* -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).

Derived terms

Descendants

East Slavic:
- Old East Slavic: корова (korova)
  - Belarusian: каро́ва (karóva)
  - Russian: коро́ва (koróva)
  - Carpathian Rusyn: коро́ва (koróva)
  - Ukrainian: коро́ва (koróva)
South Slavic:
- Bulgarian: кра́ва (kráva)
- Macedonian: кра́ва (kráva)
- Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic: крȁва
  
  Latin: krȁva
  - Kajkavian (Bednja): krȍvo
  - Slavomolisano: krava
- Slovene: kráva (tonal orthography)
West Slavic:
- Old Czech: kráva
  - Czech: kráva
- Polabian: korvo
- Polish: krowa
- Old Slovak: krava
  - Pannonian Rusyn: крава (krava)
  - Slovak: krava
- Pomeranian:
  - Kashubian: karwa
  - Slovincian: krôwa
- Sorbian:
  - Upper Sorbian: kruwa
  - Lower Sorbian: krowa

References

^ Derksen, Rick (2008) “*kòrva”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 236: “f. ā (a) ‘cow’”
^ Olander, Thomas (2001) “korva korvy”, in Common Slavic Accentological Word List‎^[1], Copenhagen: Editiones Olander: “a ko (NA 75; SA 166, 177; PR 132; MP 21; RPT 109)”
^ Kapović, Mate (2007) “The Development of Proto-Slavic Quantity”, in Wiener Slavistisches Jahrbuch‎^[2], University of Vienna, page 5: “*kőrva”

[1] Derksen, Rick (2008) “*kòrva”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 236: “f. ā (a) ‘cow’”

[2] Olander, Thomas (2001) “korva korvy”, in Common Slavic Accentological Word List‎^[1], Copenhagen: Editiones Olander: “a ko (NA 75; SA 166, 177; PR 132; MP 21; RPT 109)”

[3] Kapović, Mate (2007) “The Development of Proto-Slavic Quantity”, in Wiener Slavistisches Jahrbuch‎^[2], University of Vienna, page 5: “*kőrva”

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