Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/vitędzь

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

Based on the ethnonym Proto-Germanic *wīkingaz (whence Old Norse víkingr). Of uncertain ultimate origin; more at Vikings.

Similar semantic shift ethnonym → hero, legendary figure is also found in Old Polish obrzym (“giant”), from Proto-Slavic *ob(ъ)rinъ, originally meant "Avar".

According to Brückner and Machek, medial -t- probably is due to the influence of Proto-Slavic *vitěnьcь (“provider, supplier, guardian”) from Proto-Slavic *viti (“to twine, to curve”). Compare Old Church Slavonic възвитъ (vŭzvitŭ, “provisions, supply”).

Noun

*vìtędzь m

1. knight, hero

Declension

Declension of *vìtędzь (soft o-stem, accent paradigm a)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*vìtędzь	*vìtędza	*vìtędzi
genitive	*vìtędza	*vìtędzu	*vìtędzь
dative	*vìtędzu	*vìtędzema	*vìtędzēmъ
accusative	*vìtędzь	*vìtędza	*vìtędzę̇
instrumental	*vìtędzьmь, *vìtędzemь*	*vìtędzema	*vìtędzī
locative	*vìtędzi	*vìtędzu	*vìtędzīxъ
vocative	*vìtęže	*vìtędza	*vìtędzi

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

See also

• *kъ̏nędzь (“prince”)

Descendants

• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:
    • Bulgarian: ви́тег (víteg), ви́тез (vítez), ви́тец (vítec)
    • Macedonian: витез (vitez)
    • Serbian Church Slavonic: витѧѕь (vitędzĭ)
      • → Old East Slavic: витѧзь (vitęzĭ)
        • Old Ruthenian: ви́тѧзь (vítjazʹ), ви́тєзь (vítjezʹ), ви́тѧжь (vítjažʹ)
          • Belarusian: ві́цязь (vícjazʹ) (archaic)
          • Carpathian Rusyn: ві́тязь (vítjazʹ)
          • Ukrainian: ви́тязь (výtjazʹ)
          • → Middle Russian: ви́тѧзь (vítjazʹ), ви́тезь (vítezʹ)
            • Russian: ви́тязь (vítjazʹ) (archaic)
              • → Bulgarian: ви́тяз (vítjaz), витéз (vitéz)
          • → Polish: witeź (obsolete)
    • → Hungarian: vitéz
      • → Romanian: viteaz
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: ви̏те̄з

    Latin script: vȉtēz

  • Slovene: vȋtez (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: vítěz
    • Czech: vítěz
  • Polish: wiciądz (archaic)
  • Old Slovak: víťaz, vítez
    • Pannonian Rusyn: витяз (vitjaz), витиз (vitiz)
    • Slovak: víťaz
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: wićaz

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “ви́тязь”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “витег, витек, витец”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 154