Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/voňь

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

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *wánjāˀ; Derksen suggests a possible derivation as jā-stem from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe”).

Noun

*vòňь or *vòňa f

1. smell

Declension

Declension of *vòňь (i-stem, accent paradigm b)

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*vòňь	*voňì	*voňì
Accusative	*vòňь	*voňì	*voňì
Genitive	*vòňi	*vòňьju, *voňu*	*voňь̀jь, *vòňi*
Locative	*vòňi	*vòňьju, *voňu*	*voňь̀xъ
Dative	*voňì	*vòňьma	*voňь̀mъ
Instrumental	*vòňьjǫ, *vòňǫ*	*vòňьma	*vòňьmī
Vocative	*voňi	*voňì	*voňì

^* The second form occurs in languages that contract early across /j/ (e.g. Czech), while the first form occurs in languages that do not (e.g. Russian).

Declension of *vòňa (soft a-stem, accent paradigm b)

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*vòňa	*vòňi	*vòňę̇
Accusative	*vòňǫ	*vòňi	*vòňę̇
Genitive	*vòňę̇	*vòňu	*vòňь
Locative	*vòňi	*vòňu	*vòňasъ, *vòňaxъ*
Dative	*vòňi	*vòňama	*vòňamъ
Instrumental	*vòňejǫ, *vòňǫ**	*vòňama	*vòňamī
Vocative	*voňe	*vòňi	*vòňę̇

^* -asъ is the expected Balto-Slavic form but is found only in some Old Czech documents; -axъ is found everywhere else and is formed by analogy with other locative plurals in -xъ.
^** The second form occurs in languages that contract early across /j/ (e.g. Czech), while the first form occurs in languages that do not (e.g. Russian).

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: вонꙗ (vonja)
    • Old Ruthenian: вонь (vonʹ), вонꙗ (vonja)
      • Ukrainian: во́ня (vónja)
    • Middle Russian: вонь (vonʹ), вонꙗ (vonja)
      • Russian: вонь (vonʹ, “stench, bad smell”)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Cyrillic: вонꙗ (vonja), вонь (vonĭ)

  • Bulgarian: воня́ (vonjá)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: во̑њ (“stench, bad smell in modern usage”), во̏ња

    Latin script: vȏnj (“stench, bad smell in modern usage”), vȍnja

  • Slovene: vọ́nja (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: vóně
    • Czech: vůně
  • Polabian: vińă
  • Polish: woń
  • Silesian: wōń
  • Slovak: vôňa
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: wón

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “вонь”, in Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), transl. and suppl. by Oleg Trubachyov, Moscow: Progress
• Chernykh, P. Ja. (1993), “крыть”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), volume 1 (а – пантомима), 3rd edition, Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 165