Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/tъlmačь

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

Of Turkic origin, ultimately from Proto-Turkic *tilmač (“interpreter”), from Proto-Turkic *til (“tongue”). Cognate with Turkish dilmaç, Kazakh тілмаш (tılmaş), Uzbek tilmoch.

Noun

*tъlmáčь m

1. interpreter, translator

   Synonym: *tъlkъ

Declension

Declension of *tъlmačь (soft o-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*tъlmačь	*tъlmača	*tъlmači
genitive	*tъlmača	*tъlmaču	*tъlmačь
dative	*tъlmaču	*tъlmačema	*tъlmačemъ
accusative	*tъlmačь	*tъlmača	*tъlmačę̇
instrumental	*tъlmačьmь, *tъlmačemь*	*tъlmačema	*tъlmači
locative	*tъlmači	*tъlmaču	*tъlmačixъ
vocative	*tъlmaču	*tъlmača	*tъlmači

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

Derived terms

• *tъlmačiti (“to interpret”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: тълмачь (tŭlmačĭ)
    • Russian: толма́ч (tolmáč)
    • Ukrainian: товма́ч (tovmáč)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: тълма́ч (tǎlmáč) (archaic)
  • Macedonian: то́лмач (tólmač) (archaic)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: ту̀ма̄ч

    Latin script: tùmāč

  • Slovene: tolmáč (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: tlmač
    • Czech: tlumač (archaic)
      • Bohemian (Chod dialect): tulmač
  • Kashubian: tołmôcz, tłómôcz
  • Polish: tłumacz
    • → Belarusian: тлума́ч (tlumáč)
    • → Ukrainian: тлума́ч (tlumáč)
  • Slovak: tlmač (obsolete)
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: tołmač
• Non-Slavic languages:
  • → Hungarian: tolmács
  • → Middle High German: tolmetsche
    • German: Dolmetsch, Dolmetscher
    • Luxembourgish: Dolmetscher
  • → Romanian: tălmaci

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “толмач”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress