Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/verdъ

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

The attested meaning wart seems to be from Proto-Indo-European *werd- (“to blister”), which could be a d-extension of Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to burn”) (compare Lithuanian vìrti (“to boil”), pres. stem vérdu). Cognate with Latvian apvir̂de (“blister”), Proto-Germanic *wartǭ (“wart”).

The expected outcome of Proto-Indo-European *werd- in Slavic would be an acute (probably mobile given the broken tone in Latvian) stem. There is some evidence of acute for the causative verb *verditi, but not for the noun. The attested data for the noun points instead towards a circumflex mobile stem (with -éрe- resolution of the *-er- cluster in East Slavic and neoacute in Serbo-Croatian). This outcome presumes origin from Proto-Indo-European *werdʰ- (“to raise”), cognate with Sanskrit वर्धति (vardhati, “to grow, to elevate”).

It is possible that both an acute and circumflex etymons existed at some point, which later merged together due to Meillet's law. Snoj presumes that the original meaning of the circumflex stem was sprout, outgrowth. This semantic nuance is attested in (South) Proto-Slavic *verdьnъ (“worthy, dignified”), though, it is not certain if this etymon is native or of borrowed origin.

Noun

*vȇrdъ m

1. wart, wound
2. (by extension) harm, malice

Declension

Declension of *vȇrdъ (hard o-stem, accent paradigm c)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*vȇrdъ	*vȇrda	*vȇrdi
genitive	*vȇrda	*verdù	*vẽrdъ
dative	*vȇrdu	*verdomà	*verdòmъ
accusative	*vȇrdъ	*vȇrda	*vȇrdy
instrumental	*vȇrdъmь, *vȇrdomь*	*verdomà	*verdý
locative	*vȇrdě	*verdù	*verdě̃xъ
vocative	*verde	*vȇrda	*vȇrdi

^* -ъmь in North Slavic, -omь in South Slavic.

Derived terms

• *verdьnъ (“harmful, malicious”)
• *verditi (“to harm”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Belarusian: ве́рад (vjérad)
  • Russian: ве́ред (véred)
  • Ukrainian: ве́ред (véred)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic: врѣдъ (vrědŭ)
  • Bulgarian: вред (vred) (dialectal)
    • → Russian: вред (vred)
  • ⇒ Bulgarian: вреда́ (vredá)
  • Macedonian:
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: ври̏јед (dialectal)

    Latin script: vrȉjed (dialectal)

  • Slovene: vrèd (dialectal)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: vřěd
    • Czech: vřed
      • Moravian (Mistřice): břet
  • Old Polish: wrzód
    • Polish: wrzód
  • Slovak: vred
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: ŕod
    • Upper Sorbian: bŕód

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “ве́ред”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “вреда”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 184