гласъ

Forms

гласъ (glasŭ) m, o-stem, Glagolitic ⰳⰾⰰⱄⱏ^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *golsъ (“voice”).^[2][1] The same word is Russian го́лос (gólos), Bulgarian глас (glas), Serbo-Croatian glȃs, Slovene glȃs, Czech hlas, Polish głos and Upper Sorbian hłós.^[2][3][4]

Wiktionary derives the Proto-Slavic noun from Proto-Balto-Slavic *galsás and Proto-Indo-European *golH-so-s, formed with the suffix *-so- from a root *gelH- (“to call”).^[1] Derksen gives Balto-Slavic *golsos and the cognate Lithuanian galsas (“sound, echo”), and suggests that the root had the vowel a of the European languages, so that the noun may continue *gal-so-.^[2] Further cognates named by Derksen and Vasmer are Welsh galw (“to call”) and perhaps Latin gallus (“cock”), although Walde and Hofmann doubt the Latin word, and in Norse Vasmer names Old Norse kalla (“to shout, speak”), Derksen Old Norse kalls (“demand”).^[2][3] Vasmer compares the suffix with that of Lithuanian garsas (“sound”) and balsas (“voice”).^[3] ESSJa takes the root as sound-imitative and the s as a determinative, and notes that the word is old in spite of its expressive origin.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Gospel manuscripts use the word for Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ, “voice”), as in възъпи исоусъ гласомь велиемь “Jesus cried with a loud voice” (Mt 27, 46 Zogr Mar As Sav Ostr) and in the voice of one crying in the wilderness (Mt 3, 3).^[5] SNSP counts more than five hundred occurrences in the oldest manuscripts.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Besides the human voice, the canonical texts use the word for the cries of animals and birds (Ps 103, 12), for the sound of musical instruments and for the sounds of nature.^[5] It can also mean speech or a word, for Ancient Greek ῥῆμα (rhêma), and a sound in general, for Ancient Greek ἦχος (êkhos).^[6] In church music it became a technical term for one of the eight modes of Byzantine chant (Octoechos), гласъ а҃ “mode one”, also for ἦχος.^[5]

ESJS lists a large family: гласьнъ “sounding”, whose писмѧ гласьноѥ is a vowel, гласити and глашати “to call”, огласити “to instruct in the faith”, a calque of Ancient Greek κατηχέω (katēkhéō), and възгласити “to cry out”, whose derivative възгласъ is the closing words of a prayer said aloud.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. voice of a person; for φωνή.^[5][6][1]
2. The cry of an animal or bird.^[5]
3. A sound, as of a musical instrument or of nature; for φωνή, ἦχος.^[5][6][1]
4. speech, a word; for ῥῆμα.^[6][1]
5. (music) A mode of Byzantine chant; for ἦχος.^[5]

Word family

• гласьнъ
• гласити
• глашати
• гласовати
• огласити
• оглашати
• оглашениѥ
• пригласити
• възгласити
• съгласиѥ
• съгласьнъ
• съглашати

Related words

• Russian голос (golos)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 176
3. ^ a b c Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 1, 431
4. ^ 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. 6, 218
5. ^ a b c d e f g 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 c d e 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
7. ^ Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU