азъ

Forms

азъ (azŭ); Glagolitic ⰰⰸⱏ^[1] After и it is sometimes written ꙗзъ.^[2][3] The Codex Marianus has ѣзъ once.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *azъ (“I”), from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.^[2][1][5][6] Derksen reconstructs the Indo-European form as *h₁eǵ-H-om, through Proto-Balto-Slavic *eʔź-um.^[2][1][5][6] The oblique cases come from another stem, the suppletion typical of the first-person pronoun.^[2] The same word is Bulgarian аз (az), Slovene jàz, Serbo-Croatian jȃ, Czech já, Polish ja and Russian я (ja); the older East and West Slavic form kept the -z, as in Old East Slavic язъ (jazŭ).^[2][5][7] ESJS prefers this reconstruction to *jazъ; the short ja that prevails in West and East Slavic may be a later shortening or already Proto-Slavic, and Derksen, following Kortlandt, takes it as a Proto-Slavic innovation.^[2][5][1]

Its Indo-European relatives are Lithuanian aš, Latvian es, Old Prussian as, Sanskrit अहम् (ahám), Ancient Greek ἐγώ (egṓ), Latin ego and Gothic 𐌹𐌺 (ik).^[2][5][3][1] ESJS thinks the link with Hittite uk uncertain.^[2][5][3][1] The long a- of the Slavic word has not been fully explained: Sadnik and Aitzetmüller call the problem unsolved, while ESJS explains it as a lengthening of the initial vowel, matching the a of the Baltic forms.^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It renders Ancient Greek ἐγώ (egṓ) in all the canonical manuscripts, as in азъ же по срѣдѣ васъ есмь “but I am among you” (L 22, 27 in the Zographensis and Marianus).^[4][8]

Semantic evolution

The SJS lists with it the oblique cases, and notes that the dative ми and, more rarely, the genitive мене serve as a possessive “my”, for μου: отрокъ ми лежитъ “my servant lies” (Mt 8, 6 in the Savvina kniga, where the other Gospels have мои).^[8] The exclamations горе мьнѣ and оувꙑ мьнѣ “woe is me” render οἴμοι and οὐαί μοι in the Suprasliensis.^[8] The SNSP counts more than 3,000 occurrences.^[4]

Church Slavonic kept the word: Giltebrandt lists it with all its oblique cases for ἐγώ in the New Testament, and Vasmer notes that Russian аз “I” in Church Slavonic texts is taken from it.^[9][10]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. I, the first-person singular pronoun; for ἐγώ.^{[8][4][1][11]}
2. In the dative (ми) and genitive (мене): my; for μου.^[8]

Usage notes

The same word is the name of the first letter of the alphabet: in Chrabr's treatise отъ аза начѧть means “beginning from az”, and ESJS and Miklosich also record the letter name.^[8][2][12] Vasmer gives аз as the name of the first letter of the Old Russian alphabet, from OCS азъ “I”.^[13]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 53
3. ^ a b c d Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 212
4. ^ a b c d Slovník nejstarších staroslověnských památek (digital ed., Gorazd, Slovanský ústav AV ČR, gorazd.org); cf. Cejtlin, R. M.; Večerka, R.; Blagova, É. (eds.) (1994), Staroslavjanskij slovar' (po rukopisjam X–XI vekov), Moskva: Russkij jazyk
5. ^ a b c d e f Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 31
6. ^ a b Trubačev, Oleg N.; Žuravlev, Anatolij F.; Varbot, Žanna Ž. (eds.) (1974–2021), Ètimologičeskij slovar' slavjanskix jazykov: praslavjanskij leksičeskij fond, vols. 1–42, Moskva: Nauka, p. 1, 100
7. ^ Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 4, 538
8. ^ a b c d e f Kurz, Josef; Hauptová, Zoe (eds.) (1958–1997), Slovník jazyka staroslověnského / Lexicon linguae palaeoslovenicae, 4 vols. + supplements, Praha: Academia; digital ed. gorazd.org
9. ^ Gil'tebrandt, P. A. (1882–1885), Spravočnyj i ob''jasnitel'nyj slovar' k Novomu Zavetu, 6 vols., Sankt-Peterburg
10. ^ Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 1, 63
11. ^ Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 7
12. ^ Miklosich, Franz (1862–1865), Lexicon palaeoslovenico-graeco-latinum emendatum auctum, Vindobonae: Braumüller
13. ^ Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 1, 55