Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/užasъ

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

Alternative forms

*užěsъ (attested in "Psalterium Sinaiticum")
*užastь (sporadically attested in East Slavic)

Etymology

Morphologically equivalent to *u- +‎ *žasъ (“fright”).

Further etymology is problematic:

On morphological basis, has been linked to the root of *gasiti (“to extinguish”), which however poses semantic problems.
An alternative proposal suggests genetic relation to *gadъ (“creep, reptile”), presumably from pre-Slavic *u- +‎ *gēd- +‎ *-sъ.
Possibly a borrowing^[1] from Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (usgaisjan, “to frighten”), assumming that related non-prefixed forms are back-formations and that Gothic -𐌰𐌹- (-ai-) was rendered as Proto-Slavic *-ě- < *-ē- (rather than formally expected *-ai-).

Noun

*ȗžasъ m^[2]^[1]

(perhaps originally) awe, dismay
→ horror, fright, dread (in South, East Slavic)

→ amazement, astonishment (in West Slavic)

Declension

Declension of *ȗžasъ (hard o-stem, accent paradigm c)
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*ȗžasъ	*ȗžasa	*ȗžasi
genitive	*ȗžasa	*užasù	*užãsъ
dative	*ȗžasu	*užasomà	*užasòmъ
accusative	*ȗžasъ	*ȗžasa	*ȗžasy
instrumental	ȗžasъmь, ȗžasomь^*	*užasomà	*užasý
locative	*ȗžasě	*užasù	*užasě̃xъ
vocative	*užase	*ȗžasa	*ȗžasi

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

Derived terms

*užasiti (“to awe, to amaze, to terrify”)
*užasьnъ (“awful, stunning”)

Related terms

*žasъ (“fright”)

Descendants

East Slavic:
- Old East Slavic: ужасъ (užasŭ), ужасть (užastĭ)
  - Russian: у́жас (úžas), ужасть (užastʹ) (dialectal)
  - Ukrainian: ужа́х (užáx) (dialectal)
South Slavic:
- Old Church Slavonic:
  Old Cyrillic script: оужасъ (užasŭ)
  
  Glagolitic script: ⱆⰶⰰⱄⱏ (užasŭ)
- Bulgarian: у́жас (úžas)
- Macedonian: ужас (užas)
- Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic script: у̏жа̄с
  
  Latin script: ȕžās
West Slavic:
- Czech: úžas
- Old Slovak: úžas
  - Pannonian Rusyn: ужас (užas)
  - Slovak: úžas

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Pronk-Tiethoff, Saskia E. (2013) The Germanic loanwords in Proto-Slavic‎^[1], Amsterdam - New York: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 156: “PSl. *užasъ (m. o-stem) ‘horror, amazement’”
^ Derksen, Rick (2008) “*užasъ”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 511: “m. o ‘amazement, horror’”

[Pronk-Tiethoff-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Pronk-Tiethoff, Saskia E. (2013) The Germanic loanwords in Proto-Slavic‎^[1], Amsterdam - New York: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 156: “PSl. *užasъ (m. o-stem) ‘horror, amazement’”

[2] Derksen, Rick (2008) “*užasъ”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 511: “m. o ‘amazement, horror’”

[1]

[2]