Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/město

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

Probably from Proto-Indo-European *moyth₂- (to change place)[1] + *-to, substantivized from an earlier adjective. Cognate[2] with Pashto مېشت (mēšt, settled) (< *máištah). Likely not a direct cognate, but still possibly related to Lithuanian mai̇̃stas (nourishment, food).

The secondary sense “city, urban center” is a calque of Old High German stat < Proto-Germanic *stadiz (stead, place).

Noun

*mě̀sto n[3][4][1]

  1. (primary) place, location
  2. (secondary, in Northern Slavic) city, town, settlement

Declension

Declension of *mě̀sto (hard o-stem, accent paradigm a)
singular dual plural
nominative *mě̀sto *mě̀stě *mě̀sta
genitive *mě̀sta *mě̀stu *mě̀stъ
dative *mě̀stu *mě̀stoma *mě̀stomъ
accusative *mě̀sto *mě̀stě *mě̀sta
instrumental *mě̀stъmь, *mě̀stomь* *mě̀stoma *mě̀stȳ
locative *mě̀stě *mě̀stu *mě̀stě̄xъ
vocative *mě̀sto *mě̀stě *mě̀sta

* -ъmь in North Slavic, -omь in South Slavic.

Derived terms

  • *městina (space)
  • *městiti (to move, to change location)
    • *poměščenьje (room, space)
  • *městьce, *městъko (diminutive)
  • *městьnъ (local)
    • *městьnikъ (local)
    • *městьnostь (vicinity)
  • *městovъ (locative)
  • *vъměsto, *naměsto (instead); *vъměstě (along with) (adverbs)

Descendants

  • East Slavic:
    • Old East Slavic: мѣсто (město, place, location)
      • Middle Russian: мѣ́сто (mě́sto)
      • Old Ruthenian: мѣ́сто (mě́sto, city; place, location)
        • Belarusian: ме́ста (mjésta, city) (semantic loan from Polish)
        • Carpathian Rusyn: мі́сто (místo, city) (regional, semantic loan from Polish)
        • Ukrainian: мі́сто (místo, city) (semantic loan from Polish)
  • South Slavic:
  • West Slavic:

Further reading

  • Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “ме́сто”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
  • Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1992), “*město”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 18 (*matoga – *mękyšьka), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 203
  • Georgiev, Vladimir I., Duridanov, I. V., editors (1995), “място”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 4 (мѝнго² – па̀дам), Sofia: Prof. Marin Drinov Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 446
  • miestas”, in Lietuvių kalbos etimologinio žodyno duomenų bazė [Lithuanian etymological dictionary database], 2007–2012

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Snoj, Marko (2016) “mesto”, in Slovenski etimološki slovar [Slovenian Etymology Dictionary] (in Slovene), 3rd edition, https://fran.si:Pslovan. *mě̋sto
  2. ^ Kim, Ronald (2021) “Slavic-Iranian contacts. Linguistic relations”, in Encyclopaedia Iranica Online[1], Brill:*mēsta ‘place’ (OCSl. město; Pol. miasto, Cz. město ‘city’) < OIr. *maista-
  3. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008) “*mě̀sto”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 313:n. o (a) ‘place’
  4. ^ Olander, Thomas (2001) “město”, in Common Slavic Accentological Word List[2], Copenhagen: Editiones Olander:a (PR 132; MP 24; RPT 111)