Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/kuga

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 edit

Etymology edit

Per Trubachev, of onomatopoeic origin, probably from a semantic kernel like *kujati (to caw, to cry) +‎ *-ga. Analogical to Proto-Germanic *kuhōną (to cough, to gasp).

Per Snoj, a borrowing from Old High German koge (infection) (specifically Bawarian dialects) is suggested, however, that lemma is too young to have been reflected with *-u- in Slavic (compare Serbo-Croatian кугла (ball) < German Kugel : Serbo-Croatian корпа (box, basket) < German Korb). Rejected by Trubachev.

Noun edit

*kùga f

  1. plague, epidemic
    Synonyms: *čuma, *prokaza

Declension edit

Related terms edit

Derived terms edit

Descendants edit

  • South Slavic:
    • Bulgarian: ку́га (kúga)
    • Serbo-Croatian:
      Cyrillic script: ку̏га
      Latin script: kȕga
    • Slovene: kúga
      Slovene: kužba (contagion)

Further reading edit

  • Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1987), “*kuga?/*kugakati/*kugykati”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 13 (*kroměžirъ – *kyžiti), Moscow: Nauka, page 85
  • Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1986), “куга”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volumes 3 (крес¹ – мѝнго¹), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, page 74
  • Snoj, Marko (2016) “kúga”, in Slovenski etimološki slovar [Slovenian Etymology Dictionary] (in Slovene), 3rd edition, https://fran.si