Славен

See also: славен

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-Slavic *slověninъ, but, unlike the alternative forms, not directly inherited. The -a- vowel in the first syllable apparently derives from Russian Church Slavonic or Russian славяни́н (slavjanín), perhaps with influence from сла̏ва by folk etymology.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /slǎʋeːn/
  • Hyphenation: Сла‧вен

Proper noun

Сла̀ве̄н m anim (Latin spelling Slàvēn)

  1. (now chiefly Bosnia, Croatia) Slav
  2. (Serbia) a man from Slavonia
  3. a male given name

Usage notes

Until the 18th century, the form of this word with -o- in the first syllable was almost universal throughout the Serbo-Croatian-speaking area (with varying reflexes of yat). The form with -a- seems to have originated in Slavonic-Serbian and spread under the influence of Pan-Slavism during the 19th century. By the 20th century, the form with -a- became the most common form in Croatia and all but disappeared from Serbia, effectively reversing the early 19th-century distribution of the two forms.

Declension

Declension of Славен
singular plural
nominative Сла̀ве̄н Славе́ни
genitive Славе́на Славена
dative Славену Славенима
accusative Славена Славене
vocative Славену Славени
locative Славену Славенима
instrumental Славеном Славенима

References

  1. ^ * Skok, Petar (1971–1974) “Славен”, in Etimologijski rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika [Etymological Dictionary of the Croatian or Serbian Language] (in Serbo-Croatian), volumes 1–4 (A – Ž), Zagreb: JAZU