Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/-ica

By secondary thematicization of older consonant-stem, e.g.

• post-Proto-Indo-European *musī (“fly”) (cf. Ancient Greek μυῖα (muîa), Latin musca) > Pre-Slavic *mus-ī-k- > *mux-ī-k-ā > Common Slavic *mъšica (“fly”).
• post-Proto-Indo-European *wl̥kʷíh₂s (“she-wolf”) (cf. Proto-Germanic *wulgī) > Pre-Slavic *vilk-ī-k- > *vilč-ī-k-ā > Common Slavic *vьlčica (“she-wolf”)

This is comparable to the treatment of ī/ih₂-stems in Latin, in the suffix -trīx, compare:

• Latin genitrīx (“mother”) : Sanskrit जनित्री (jánitrī, “mother”), Ancient Greek γενέτειρα (genéteira).

The primary function in PIE, also retained in Proto-Slavic, was thus to create feminines, substantivized feminine adjectives. The diminutive function is closely related to the structural element */-k-ā/, and has parallels in other suffixes: *-ьka, *-ъka, *-ika, *-ьkъ, *-ъkъ.

*-ica f (sometimes m, see usage notes)

1. Denominal, forming diminutives.

   *děva (“girl, maiden”) → *děvica (“(a little) girl”)

   *muxa (“fly”) → *mušica (“(a small) fly”)

   *noga (“leg”) → *nožica (“(a small) leg”)

   *rǫka (“hand”) → *rǫčica (“(a small) hand”)

   *oldi, *oldьje (“ship, boat”) → *oldьjica (“(a small) ship, boat”)

   *ryba (“fish”) → *rybica (“(a small) fish”)

2. Denominal, forming feminine counterparts of masculine nouns.

   *cěsařь (“emperor”) → *cěsařica (“empress”)

   *lisъ (“a male fox”) → *lisica (“a female fox”)

3. Denominal, forming nouns denoting something related to the meaning of the baseword.

   *buky, *bukъve (“beech”) → *bukъvica (“beech fruit”)

   *bъrъ (“a kind of millet”) → *bъrica (“a variety of wild millet”)

4. Deadjectival, denoting a carrier of a property.

   *pьjanъ (“drunk”) → *pьjanica (“drunkard”)

   *desnъ (“right”) → *desnica (“right hand”)

   *čьrnъ (“black”) → *čьrnica (“something or somebody black”)

   *starъ (“old”) → *starica (“old woman”)

   *zoltъ (“golden”) → *zoltica (“something golden”)

5. (rare) Deadjectival, forming abstract nouns.

   *blědъ (“pale”) → *blědica (“paleness”)

   *blědьnъ (“pale”) → *blědьnica (“paleness”)

6. (rare) Deverbal, forming agent nouns and nomina instrumenti.

   *daviti (“to choke, gag, stifle”) → *davica (“that who/which chokes”)

   *plęsati (“to dance”) → *plęsica (“dancer”)

Forming feminine counterparts of masculine nouns is particularly productive in South Slavic. North Slavic normally prefers the suffix *-ьca / *-ъka instead.

Diminutive formations are particularly productive in South Slavic (especially Old Church Slavonic and Serbo-Croatian, which do not have diminutive reflexes of suffixes *-ьca / *-ъka). North Slavic has the suffix preserved in relics, and prefers the suffix *-ьca / *-ъka instead.

Agent and instrument nouns formations are secondary, and were originally based on the primary adjective, noun or participle, and later semantically influenced by the corresponding verb. E.g.

• *bъrzica (“fast flowing river; a fast human or animal”) ← *bъrzъ (“fast”) : *bъrziti (“to rush, hurry, haste”)
• *bujica (“torrent, rapid stream”) ← *bujь (“unrestrained, violent, fierce”) : *bujiti (“to rapidly, vigorously grow, surge, swell”)

Some agent nouns on *-ica, such as *pьjanica (“drunkard”), can also be masculine, which is especially productive in Serbo-Croatian.

Accent depends on that of the baseword. In case of oxytonic and circumflexed base, usually the suffixal *-i- is acuted. Derivations from acuted basewords usually preserve the acute (e.g. *ba̋bica, *sta̋rica).

• (in some of the functions): *-ьka, *-ъka, *-ika (sometimes)

• *-ьnica (with *-ьn- element abstracted away from denominal derivations on *-ьnъ)
• *-avica (with *-av- element abstracted away from agent nouns on *-ava and adjectives on *-avъ)

• *-ikъ (masculine counterpart)

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: -ица (-ica)
    • Old Ruthenian: -ица (-ica)
      • Belarusian: -іца (-ica)
      • Ukrainian: -иця (-ycja)
    • Russian: -ица (-ica)
  • Old Novgorodian: -ица (-ića), -ицꙗ (-ićja)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Glagolitic script: -ⰹⱌⰰ (-ica)

    Old Cyrillic script: -ица (-ica)

    • Bulgarian: -ица (-ica)
    • Macedonian: -ица (-ica)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: -ица

    Latin script: -ica

  • Slovene: -ica
  • → Ottoman Turkish: ـیچه (-içe)
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: -ice
  • Old Polish: -ica, -yca
    • Polish: -ica
  • Slovak: -ica
  • Pomeranian:
    • Kashubian: -ica
    • Slovincian: -ica
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: -ica
    • Upper Sorbian: -ica

• Šekli, Matej (2012) “Besedotvorni pomeni samostalniških izpeljank v praslovanščini”, in Philological Studies‎^[1] (in Slovene), volume 10, number 1, Skopje, Perm, Ljubljana, Zagreb, pages 115–32
• Halla-aho, Jussi (2006) Problems of Proto-Slavic Historical Nominal Morphology: On the Basis of Old Church Slavic (Slavica Helsingiensia; 26), Helsinki: University of Helsinki, page 85f
• Sławski, Franciszek, editor (1974), “*-ica”, in Słownik prasłowiański [Proto-Slavic Dictionary] (in Polish), volume 1 (a – bьzděti), Wrocław: Ossolineum, page 98