Etymologically
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а

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Forms

а (a)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *a (“but, and”), a word of every Slavic language.[2][1] The same word is Russian а (a), Bulgarian а (a), Serbo-Croatian a, Czech a and Polish a.[2][1] As a contrastive particle and conjunction it is found everywhere; it means “and” mainly in Czech, Slovak and Sorbian, and “but” in South and East Slavic, Old Czech and Polish.[2]

ESJS gives two explanations.[2] The older one, of Miklosich and Berneker, derives it from an ablative of the pronominal stem *e/o and compares Sanskrit आत् (ā́t, “then, so”), Avestan āat̰ (“afterwards, then”) and Lithuanian o (“and, but”);[2][3] Fraenkel rejects the view that the Lithuanian word is a Slavic loan.[2] Wiktionary traces it through Proto-Balto-Slavic *ō to Proto-Indo-European *h₁ōd, the ablative of the demonstrative *éy, but notes that no daughter language attests such an ablative.[1] Pokorny took *ed, *od as a particle of pronominal origin.[2] The other explanation, held by Zubatý and, most explicitly, by Holub and Kopečný, and later by Trávníček, Skok and others, takes the conjunction from an interjection;[2] ESJS sees the OCS examples that the SJS classes as an emotive particle or interjection as showing the passage from interjection to connective, and for an interjection it assumes an elementary rather than a genetic link with similar words elsewhere.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The conjunction is in all the oldest manuscripts, more than 800 times in those the SNSP covers.[4] In the Gospels it renders Ancient Greek δέ (dé), as in ꙇ съберетъ пьшеницѫ • вь житьницѫ своѫ • а плѣвꙑ съжежетъ огн҄емь не гашѫштимь “and he will gather his wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (L 3, 17, Codex Zographensis, Codex Marianus, Codex Assemanianus and Savvina kniga).[5]

Semantic evolution

The SJS orders its uses from the adversative “but”, for δέ and ἀλλά, to the adversative-copulative “and then”, as in the sower's seed, а дроугое паде на камене… а дроугое паде на земл҄и добрѣ “and other seed fell on the rock… and other fell on good ground” (L 8, 6–8), and the rare plain copulative “and, and moreover”.[5] а не is “and not”: милостꙑни хоштѫ а не жрътвѣ “I desire mercy and not sacrifice” (Mt 9, 13).[5] With бо or оубо in the first clause it renders μέν… δέ: д‹оу›хъ бо бьдръ • а плъть немоштьна “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt 26, 41).[4]

It also opens questions (а ли introduces a rhetorical one) and, in the Codex Suprasliensis, unreal conditions with бꙑ or би, “if”.[5][6][7] The one example of a real condition, “if”, in Gn 18, 24 (Grig) may be an unfinished аште, since the parallel manuscripts have that word.[2] It combines into ацѣ (“and yet, although”), абꙑ and али, and а се means “and behold”.[2][5]

Meanings

Conjunction

  1. but, whereas; for δέ, ἀλλά.[5][4][1]
  2. and, and then, joining with some contrast; for καί, δέ.[5][4][1]
  3. (rare) And, and moreover; for καί.[5]
  4. (with бꙑ, би) if, in unreal conditions; for εἰ.[5][6]
  5. (in questions) And, well then; with ли, introducing a rhetorical question.[5]

Word family

  • абꙑ
  • ацѣ
  • али

Usage notes

The same sign is also the first letter of the OCS alphabet, called азъ, and with a titlo (а҃) the numeral 1.[5][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 45
  3. ^ Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 211
  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 g h i j k Kurz, Josef; Hauptová, Zoe (eds.) (1958–1997), Slovník jazyka staroslověnského / Lexicon linguae palaeoslovenicae, 4 vols. + supplements, Praha: Academia; digital ed. gorazd.org
  6. ^ a b Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 3
  7. ^ a b Miklosich, Franz (1862–1865), Lexicon palaeoslovenico-graeco-latinum emendatum auctum, Vindobonae: Braumüller