Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/lěnь

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-Indo-European *leh₁-, alongside Latin lenis (calm, gradual) and Lithuanian lėtas (slow, tranquil).

Noun

*lěnь f[1]

  1. laziness

Declension

Declension of *lěnь (i-stem)
singular dual plural
nominative *lěnь *lěni *lěni
genitive *lěni *lěnьju, *lěňu* *lěnьjь, *lěni*
dative *lěni *lěnьma *lěnьmъ
accusative *lěnь *lěni *lěni
instrumental *lěnьjǫ, *lěňǫ* *lěnьma *lěnьmi
locative *lěni *lěnьju, *lěňu* *lěnьxъ
vocative *lěni *lěni *lěni

* 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:
    • Russian: лень (lenʹ, laziness)
    • Ukrainian: лінь (linʹ, laziness, lazy person)
  • South Slavic:
    • Old Church Slavonic:
      Cyrillic: лѣнь (lěnĭ, laziness)
      Glagolitic: ⰾⱑⱀⱐ (lěnĭ)
    • Serbo-Croatian:
      Cyrillic script: ли̏јен (laziness)
      Latin script: lȉjen
    • Slovene: lė̑n (laziness)
  • West Slavic:
    • Czech: léň (laziness) (obsolete, dialectal)
    • Polish: leń (lazy person)
    • Slovak: lieň (laziness) (poetic, dialectal)
    • Sorbian:
      • Upper Sorbian: lěni

Further reading

  • Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “лень”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress

References

  1. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008) “*lěnь”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 273:f. i ‘laziness’