Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/kovylь

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 reconstructions

• *kovylъ

Etymology

According to ESSJa, a verbal noun of *kovati (“to forge”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐍅𐌹 (hawi, “grass, hay”).

Noun

*kovylь m

1. feathergrass (any of various grasses of the genus Stipa)

Declension

Declension of *kovylь (soft o-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*kovylь	*kovyla	*kovyli
genitive	*kovyla	*kovylu	*kovylь
dative	*kovylu	*kovylema	*kovylemъ
accusative	*kovylь	*kovyla	*kovylę̇
instrumental	*kovylьmь, *kovylemь*	*kovylema	*kovyli
locative	*kovyli	*kovylu	*kovylixъ
vocative	*kovylu	*kovyla	*kovyli

^* -ьmь in North Slavic, -emь in South Slavic.

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: ковꙑль (kovylĭ), ковꙑла f (kovyla)
    • Belarusian: кавы́ль (kavýlʹ)
    • Russian: ковы́ль (kovýlʹ); ковы́л (kovýl), ковы́ла f (kovýla) (dialectal)
    • Ukrainian: кови́ла f (kovýla)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: кови́л (kovíl); куви́л (kuvíl) (dialectal)
  • Macedonian: ковил (kovil)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: ко̏вӣље n; ко̏вӣља f (dialectal)

    Latin script: kȍvīlje n; kȍvīlja f (dialectal)

• West Slavic:
  • Czech: kovyl, kavyl
  • Slovak: kavyľ
  • Sorbian:

    Upper Sorbian: kowjel

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1985), “*kovylь/*kovylь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 12 (*koulъkъ – *kroma/*kromъ), Moscow: Nauka, page 15
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “ковы́ль”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress