Etymologically
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врагъ

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Forms

врагъ (vragŭ) m, o-stem, Glagolitic ⰲⱃⰰⰳⱏ[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *vorgъ (“foe, enemy”), which Derksen reconstructs as a masculine o-stem with mobile accent.[2][1] The same word is Polish wróg (“foe”), Czech vrah (“foe”), Slovak vrah (“murderer”), Upper Sorbian wróh (“murderer”), Bulgarian враг (vrag, “enemy”), Serbo-Croatian vrȃg (“devil”) and Slovene vrȃg (“devil”).[2][3][1]

The ⟨ra⟩ of this word is its South Slavic, Church Slavonic shape: East Slavic has ⟨oro⟩ there, as Russian ворог (vórog, “foe, fiend”), now a word of folk poetry, and Ukrainian ворог (vóroh).[3][2][1] Because of this ⟨ra⟩, Vasmer takes Russian враг (vrag) as a borrowing from Church Slavonic, as Russian вражда (vraždá) is from вражьда;[4][5] Kiparsky says the same of the Russian word and of Ukrainian враг (vrah).[4][5]

The closest relatives are Baltic: Lithuanian var̃gas (“hardship, misery”), Latvian vā̀rgs (“misery”) and Old Prussian wargs (“evil”), with the ablauting vérgas (“slave”).[2][3][5][6] Derksen sets up Proto-Balto-Slavic *worʔgós and Proto-Indo-European *(h₁)uorg-o-, and compares Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (wrikan, “to persecute”); the initial laryngeal depends on Ancient Greek εἴργω (eírgō, “to shut in, shut out”), which may or may not be cognate.[2] Wiktionary derives the Balto-Slavic word from a root *Hwergʰ- (“to commit a crime”).[1] Vasmer and Sadnik also name Latin urgeō (“to press, drive”) as a possible relative, while Vasmer calls the comparison with Old Norse vargr (“wolf, outlaw”) unreliable and rejects one with Ancient Greek ῥήγνυμι (rhḗgnumi, “to break”).[3][6]

Kluge and Senn took the Slavic word for a loan of the Germanic word seen in Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌿𐌽𐌰𐍅𐌰𐍂𐌲𐍃 (launawargs, “ungrateful”), and Kluge even took the suffix of the noun for enmity as borrowed too, with 𐍅𐌰𐍂𐌲𐌹𐌸𐌰 (wargiþa, “condemnation”) as its starting point.[5] Kiparsky counts the word as native Slavic, cognate with the supposed Germanic source: the Baltic words make a borrowing unnecessary.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is in all the Gospel manuscripts, the Psalterium Sinaiticum, the Euchologium Sinaiticum, the Glagolita Clozianus and the Codex Suprasliensis, rendering Ancient Greek ἐχθρός (ekhthrós, “enemy”).[7][8][9] In the Codex Zographensis Mt 5, 43 reads вьзлюбиши подроуга своего • ꙇ възненавидиши врагꙑ своѩ “you shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy”, where the Marianus, Assemanianus and Savvina kniga have the singular врага своего.[9]

Semantic evolution

The canonical texts use it for a personal enemy, as in the parable of the enemy who sowed tares among the wheat (Mt 13, 25), and for the enemies of the psalmist and of a people, rendering ἐχθρός and also Ancient Greek πολέμιος (polémios, “hostile, a military enemy”).[8][9] In the Codex Suprasliensis the enemy is also the devil: прѣскврьнънꙑи бо врагъ родоу чл‹овѣ›ч‹ь›скоу “the most foul enemy of the human race” (Supr 519, 16).[9] SlaVaComp's lexicon of the Old Bulgarian service books lists врагъ among the renderings of Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn).[10]

Later Church Slavonic kept these senses: Sedakova distinguishes the military enemy, the personal foe of “love your enemies” (Mt 5, 44) and the devil, also called врагъ невидимый “the invisible enemy”.[11] Miklosich cites the Serbian Church Slavonic sense “devil”, which the word also has in Slovene, Serbo-Croatian and in Bulgarian dialects.[12][7][2]

Timeline

  • End of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century – врагъ renders ἐχθρός in the Euchologium Sinaiticum.[10]
  • Up to the beginning of the 15th century – a Serbian patristic translation from the Rila monastery uses it for ἐχθρός.[10]
  • 1882–1885 – Giltebrandt lists its New Testament uses, from возненави́диши врага̀ твоего̀ (Mt 5, 43) on.[13]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An enemy, a foe; for ἐχθρός.[8][9][1]
  2. An enemy in war, an adversary; for πολέμιος.[9][11]
  3. (figurative) The devil.[9][1][11]

Word family

  • вражии
  • вражьда
  • вражьдовати
  • вражьскꙑ
  • Russian враг (vrag)
  • Russian ворог (vórog)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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. 527
  3. ^ a b c d Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 1, 352
  4. ^ a b Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 1, 360
  5. ^ a b c d e Kiparsky, Valentin (1934), Die gemeinslavischen Lehnwörter aus dem Germanischen, Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae B XXXII,2, Helsinki, p. 94
  6. ^ a b Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 333
  7. ^ a b Georgiev, Vladimir I. et al. (eds.) (1971–), Bălgarski etimologičen rečnik, Sofija: Izdatelstvo na Bălgarskata akademija na naukite, p. 1, 178–179
  8. ^ a b c Kurz, Josef; Hauptová, Zoe (eds.) (1958–1997), Slovník jazyka staroslověnského / Lexicon linguae palaeoslovenicae, 4 vols. + supplements, Praha: Academia; digital ed. gorazd.org
  9. ^ a b c d e f g 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
  10. ^ a b c SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de
  11. ^ a b c Sedakova, O. A. (2005), Slovar' trudnyx slov iz bogosluženija: cerkovnoslavjano-russkie paronimy, Moskva: Grēko-latinskij kabinet Ju. A. Šičalina
  12. ^ Miklosich, Franz (1862–1865), Lexicon palaeoslovenico-graeco-latinum emendatum auctum, Vindobonae: Braumüller
  13. ^ Gil'tebrandt, P. A. (1882–1885), Spravočnyj i ob''jasnitel'nyj slovar' k Novomu Zavetu, 6 vols., Sankt-Peterburg