господь

Forms

господь (gospodĭ) m, i-stem, Glagolitic ⰳⱁⱄⱂⱁⰴⱐ^[1] Usually written under a titlo, г҃ь or гдь.^[2] The declension wavers between the i-stem and the o-, jo- and u-stems, and later Russian Church Slavonic uses the collective господа as its plural.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *gospodь (“lord, master”), usually explained as an earlier *gostьpodь from Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstipotis (“lord of guests, host”).^[3][5][1] The same word is Russian господь (gospodʹ), Ukrainian господь (hospodʹ), Bulgarian господ (gospod), Serbo-Croatian gospod, Slovene gospod and Polish gospód; it means “the Lord, God” almost everywhere.^[3][5]

The first part is the Indo-European word of гость (“guest”), the second Proto-Indo-European *pótis (“lord, master”), as in Latin potis (“able, powerful”), Ancient Greek πόσις (pósis, “husband”) and Lithuanian pats (“husband; self”) (also in viešpats (“lord”)).^[3][6][4] Its closest relative is Latin hospes (“host, guest”), from the same compound.^[3][5][4] Vasmer thinks the shortening to господь happened in a title or form of address.^[4]

The -d instead of -t is unexplained.^[5][3] Many scholars assume an old alternation of *pot- and *pod-, comparing Ancient Greek δεσπόζω (despózō) beside δεσπότης (despótēs), but Derksen points out that Winter's law rules this out for Slavic.^[3][6][5] Fraenkel's idea of influence from свобода is rejected by ESJS as unconvincing.^[3][6] Much, Hirt and Vaillant took the word as a Christian loan from Gothic of the 3rd to 6th centuries; the d would then be regular, but the Gothic compound they assume is not attested, and ESJS also finds a Latin source unlikely and records Korš's Iranian proposal without accepting it.^[3] Sadnik rejects Vaillant's separation of господа from господь.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Gospels it means the master of slaves or of a household, for Ancient Greek κύριος (kúrios) and Ancient Greek οἰκοδεσπότης (oikodespótēs): съкрꙑ съребро господа своего “he hid his master's silver” (Mt 25, 18, Zogr As).^[7] In the Psalterium Sinaiticum and the Euchologium Sinaiticum it is the Lord God, for κύριος: благослови доуше моѣ господѣ “bless the Lord, my soul” (Ps 103, 1).^[7][2]

Semantic evolution

ESJS traces the meaning from “host” to “master of the house”, and then, under the influence of κύριος and Latin dominus, to “the Lord, God”.^[3] The canonical texts use it for κύριος and δεσπότης, both of a human owner or master and of God, and also for θεός and Christ; the SNSP counts more than 1,900 examples.^[7][2] Beside it stands the derived господинъ, which some manuscripts have for a human master where others have господь (Mt 25, 18 Ostr).^[7][3] In Russian Church Slavonic the vocative господи is said with a fricative г taken from the Ukrainian and southern Russian church pronunciation, and spellings without г- (осподь) occur from the 14th century.^[4] Sedakova notes that in Church Slavonic господь can still mean a master and serve as a polite address, while the Lord is always written under a titlo.^[8] Romanian gospodar and gospodină come from Church Slavonic or from the living Slavic languages.^[3]

Timeline

• End of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century – the Euchologium Sinaiticum uses господь for κύριος, θεός and Χριστός.^[9]
• Until the beginning of the 15th century – a Serbian patristic translation in SlaVaComp (Hi, Rila Monastery) has господь and господинъ for κύριος.^[9]
• 1882–1885 – Giltebrandt lists it in the Church Slavonic New Testament for κύριος, both for the Lord God and for a master.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. lord, master, owner (of slaves, a household, a vineyard); for κύριος, δεσπότης, οἰκοδεσπότης.^[7][2][1]
2. The Lord, God; also of Christ; for κύριος, θεός.^[7][2]

Word family

• господа
• господьнь
• господьскъ
• господьствиѥ
• господьство
• господꙑни
• госпожда
• господьствовати

Related words

• господинъ
• гость
• Latin hospes

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 191–192
4. ^ a b c d e Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 1, 446–447
5. ^ a b c d e Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 180
6. ^ a b c d Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 238
7. ^ 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
8. ^ Sedakova, O. A. (2005), Slovar' trudnyx slov iz bogosluženija: cerkovnoslavjano-russkie paronimy, Moskva: Grēko-latinskij kabinet Ju. A. Šičalina
9. ^ a b SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de
10. ^ Gil'tebrandt, P. A. (1882–1885), Spravočnyj i ob''jasnitel'nyj slovar' k Novomu Zavetu, 6 vols., Sankt-Peterburg