kraj

See also: kráj

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech kraj, from Proto-Slavic *krajь.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkraj]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

kraj m inan

1. edge, periphery, outskirts
2. region

Declension

Declension of kraj (soft masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	kraj	kraje
genitive	kraje	krajů
dative	kraji	krajům
accusative	kraj	kraje
vocative	kraji	kraje
locative	kraji	krajích
instrumental	krajem	kraji

Derived terms

• krajan
• krajina
• krajní
• okraj

 

Related terms

• krajka
• krajnice
• ukrajina

 

Further reading

• “kraj”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935-1957
• “kraj”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “kraj”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech)

Lower Sorbian

Etymology

Probably borrowed from Upper Sorbian kraj, from Proto-Slavic *krajь. Doublet of kšaj, which was inherited.

Noun

kraj m inan

1. region, land

   Synonym: kšaj

Declension

Declension of kraj

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	kraj	kraja	kraje
Genitive	kraja	krajowu	krajow
Dative	krajoju	krajoma	krajam
Accusative	kraj	kraja	kraje
Instrumental	krajom	krajoma	krajami
Locative	kraju	krajoma	krajach

Further reading

• Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928) “kraj”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
• Starosta, Manfred (1999) “kraj”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag
• Lower Sorbian vocabulary. In: Haspelmath, M. & Tadmor, U. (eds.) World Loanword Database. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

Old Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *krajь.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈkraj/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈkraj/

Noun

kraj m inan

1. edge, boundary, end (boundary line of a surface)
2. (chiefly in the plural) borderland
3. landscape, area, territory, country

Declension

Declension of kraj (soft o-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	kraj	krajě	kraji, krajové
genitive	krajě	krajú	krajóv
dative	kraju	krajoma	krajóm
accusative	kraj	krajě	krajě
vocative	kraju	krajě	kraji, krajové
locative	kraji, kraju	krajú	krajích
instrumental	krajem	krajoma	kraji

This table shows the most common forms around the 13th century.
See also Appendix:Old Czech nouns and Appendix:Old Czech pronunciation.

Descendants

• Czech: kraj

References

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “kraj”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Old Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *krajь. First attested in the 14th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /kraːj/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /krɒj/

Noun

kraj m inan

1. (attested in Lesser Poland) border (edge of a territory)
   • 1939 [end of the 14th century], Ryszard Ganszyniec, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Kubica, Ludwik Bernacki, editors, Psałterz florjański łacińsko-polsko-niemiecki [Sankt Florian Psalter]‎^[1], Krakow: Zakład Narodowy imienia Ossolińskich, z zasiłkiem Sejmu Śląskiego [The Ossoliński National Institute: with the benefit of the Silesian Parliament], pages 2, 8:

     Dam cy... w trzimane twoie craie zemske (terminos terrae)

     [Dam ci... w trzymanie twoje kraje ziemskie (terminos terrae)]

   • 1930 [c. 1455], “Gen”, in Ludwik Bernacki, editor, Biblia królowej Zofii (Biblia szaroszpatacka)‎^[2], section 13,11:

     Wiswolyl sobye Loth kray (regionem) podle Yordana

     [Wyzwolił sobie Lot kraj (regionem) podle Jordana]

2. (attested in Lesser Poland) edge, boundary, end (boundary line of a surface)
   • 1939 [end of the 14th century], Ryszard Ganszyniec, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Kubica, Ludwik Bernacki, editors, Psałterz florjański łacińsko-polsko-niemiecki [Sankt Florian Psalter]‎^[3], Krakow: Zakład Narodowy imienia Ossolińskich, z zasiłkiem Sejmu Śląskiego [The Ossoliński National Institute: with the benefit of the Silesian Parliament], pages 132, 3:

     Yasz stanpa w kray odzena gego (quod descendit in oram vestimenti eius)

     [Jaż zstąpa w kraj odzienia jego (quod descendit in oram vestimenti eius)]

   • 1880-1894 [Fifteenth century], Sprawozdania Komisji Językowej Akademii Umiejętności‎^[4], volume V, page 266:

     Ab oriente, hoc est ab illa plaga mundi, od onego krayv szwyatha, ubi sol oritur

     [Ab oriente, hoc est ab illa plaga mundi, od onego kraju świata, ubi sol oritur]

Derived terms

adjective

• krajny

 

noun

• krajnik

 

Descendants

• Masurian: kráj
• Polish: kraj
• Silesian: kraj

References

• Boryś, Wiesław (2005) “kraj”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
• Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000) “kraj”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
• Sławski, Franciszek (1958-1965) “kraj”, in Jan Safarewicz, Andrzej Siudut, editors, Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological dictionary of the Polish language] (in Polish), Kraków: Towarzystwo Miłośników Języka Polskiego
• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, editor (2011–2015), “kraj”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kraj/
• (Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /ˈkrɒj/

• Audio 1:

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aj
• Syllabification: kraj

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Polish kraj.

Noun

kraj m inan

1. country (territory of a nation)

   Synonyms: kraina, państwo

2. (government) krai (administrative division of some countries)
3. (chiefly dated or archaic) edge, boundary, end (boundary line of a surface)

   Synonym: skraj

Declension

Declension of kraj

	singular	plural
nominative	kraj	kraje
genitive	kraju	krajów
dative	krajowi	krajom
accusative	kraj	kraje
instrumental	krajem	krajami
locative	kraju	krajach
vocative	kraju	kraje

Related terms

adjective

• krajowy

 

nouns

• Dzierżykraj
• kraina
• krajan
• obieżykraj

 

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), kraj is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 107 times in scientific texts, 193 times in news, 205 times in essays, 37 times in fiction, and 19 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 561 times, making it the 83rd most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

kraj

1. second-person singular imperative of krajać

Further reading

• kraj in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• kraj in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “kraj”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• “KRAJ”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 2010 September 6
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “kraj”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “kraj”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1902), “kraj”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 2, Warsaw, page 522

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *krajь, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kroh₁(y)-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /krâːj/
• Rhymes: -âːj

Noun

krȃj m (Cyrillic spelling кра̑ј)

1. end, ending
2. rim, edge, verge
3. region, area
4. landscape, scenery
5. (archaic) land, shore

Declension

Declension of kraj

	singular	plural
nominative	krȃj	krȁjevi / kràjevi
genitive	krȁja	krȁjēvā / krajévā / kràjēvā
dative	krȁju	krȁjevima / krajèvima / kràjevima
accusative	kraj	krȁjeve / kràjeve
vocative	krȁju	krȁjevi / kràjevi
locative	krȁju / kràju	krȁjevima / krajèvima / kràjevima
instrumental	krȁjem	krȁjevima / krajèvima / kràjevima

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *krajь.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /krâj/

Preposition

krȁj (Cyrillic spelling кра̏ј) (+ genitive case)

1. near, next to, beside (= pȍred, pȍkraj, dȍ)

   Dođi, s(j)edni kraj mene. ― Come, sit next to me.

2. past, by (= pȍred, pȍkraj)

   Metak je proletio točno kraj mene. ― The bullet flew right by me.

3. (proscribed) in spite of, despite (= ȕprkos/ȕsprkos, pȍred)

   I kraj svega toga, preživio sam. ― And despite all of it, I survived.

Silesian

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish kraj.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkraj/
• Rhymes: -aj
• Syllabification: kraj

Noun

kraj m inan

1. country (territory of a nation)

   Synonyms: regiōn, krajina, państwo

2. edge, boundary, end (boundary line of a surface)
3. (government) krai (administrative division of some countries)

   Synonyms: rant, brzyg

   Antonym: postrzodek

Further reading

• kraj in silling.org

Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *krajь.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kraj/

Noun

kraj m inan (genitive singular kraja, nominative plural kraje, genitive plural krajov, declension pattern of stroj)

1. edge
2. end
3. region

Declension

Declension of kraj

	singular	plural
nominative	kraj	kraje
genitive	kraja	krajov
dative	kraju	krajom
accusative	kraj	kraje
locative	kraji	krajoch
instrumental	krajom	krajmi

Further reading

• “kraj”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024

Slovene

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *krajь.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kráj/

Noun

krȁj m inan

1. place (location, position)
2. town, village or place

   Iz katerega kraja si ravnokar prišel? ― What place have you just come from?

3. end or beginning

Inflection

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., soft o-stem
nom. sing.	kràj
gen. sing.	krája
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	kràj	krája	kráji
genitive (rodȋlnik)	krája	krájev	krájev
dative (dajȃlnik)	kráju	krájema	krájem
accusative (tožȋlnik)	kràj	krája	kráje
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	kráju	krájih	krájih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	krájem	krájema	kráji

Further reading

• “kraj”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran

Upper Sorbian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *krajь.

Noun

kraj m inan

1. country, land

Descendants

• → Lower Sorbian: kraj

Further reading

• “kraj” in Soblex