градъ

градъ¹ fortified place, town

Pronunciation

• /ˈɡrɑdʊ/^[1]

Forms

градъ (gradŭ) m, o-stem, Glagolitic ⰳⱃⰰⰴⱏ^[1] Its diminutive is градьць, and its adjectives are градьнъ and градьскъ.^[1]

Etymology

The word for a fortified place or town is inherited from Proto-Slavic *gordъ (“fortification, town”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *gárdas, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰordʰ-os, a derivative of *gʰerdʰ- (“to enclose”).^[1][2] It is a word of all the Slavic languages, first meaning an enclosed settlement with a stronghold, which became “castle” in South and West Slavic and “town” in South and East Slavic.^[3] The same word is Russian город (gorod), Bulgarian град (grad), Serbo-Croatian grad, Slovene grad, Czech hrad (“castle”), Slovak hrad, Polish gród, Upper Sorbian hród, Lower Sorbian grod, Polabian gord and Kashubian gard.^[3][2][4]

ESJS thinks it may already be an Indo-European term for an enclosure, continued in Lithuanian gar̃das (“enclosure, pen”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌳𐍃 (gards, “house”), Old Norse garðr (“fence, enclosure”) and Old English geard, the source of English yard, and perhaps Hittite gurta- (“citadel”).^{[3][2][5][1][4]} A borrowing from Germanic, from Gothic gards, was proposed by Fick, Uhlenbeck, Hirt and Stender-Petersen;^[3][4] ESJS finds it unnecessary and Vasmer improbable.^[3][4] ESJS also rejects an original palatal and an early influence of the centum languages, which Brugmann and Kiparsky assumed.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the oldest Gospel manuscripts it translates Ancient Greek πόλις (pólis): оученици бо его ошьли бѣахѫ въ градъ • да брашьна коупѧтъ “for his disciples had gone into the town to buy food” (J 4, 8 Zogr Mar As).^[6]

Semantic evolution

In OCS the sense “enclosed place” narrowed to the wall of a town, for Ancient Greek τεῖχος (teîkhos), and to a garden or park, for Ancient Greek κῆπος (kêpos) and Ancient Greek παράδεισος (parádeisos).^[3][6] From “settlement” came the townspeople (вьсь градъ ꙇзиде “the whole town came out”, Mt 8, 34), the Christian community, for ἐκκλησία (A 14, 23), and citizenship, for πολιτεία (A 22, 28).^[3][6]

Church Slavonic градъ is the source of the archaic and poetic Russian град (grad) and Ukrainian град (hrad) beside native город (gorod), and Church Slavonic градина, ограда and граждь were borrowed into Romanian grădină (“garden”), ogradă (“enclosure”) and grajd (“stable”).^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A fortified place, castle, town, city; for πόλις, κώμη.^[6][7][1]
2. The people of a town; the Christian community; citizenship; for πόλις, ἐκκλησία, πολιτεία.^[6][1]
3. A town wall, rampart; for τεῖχος.^[6][1]
4. A garden, park; for κῆπος, παράδεισος.^[6][1]

Word family

• градьць
• градьскъ
• градьнъ
• градити
• оградити
• ограда
• възградити
• заградити
• приградъ
• гражданинъ
• градьникъ
• безградьникъ
• граждь

градъ² hail

Pronunciation

• /ˈɡrɑdʊ/^[1]

Forms

градъ (gradŭ) m, o-stem^[1]

Etymology

The word for hail is inherited from Proto-Slavic *gradъ (“hail”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰreh₃d-.^[1][8] The same word is Russian град (grad), Bulgarian град (grad), Serbo-Croatian grad, Slovene grad, Polish grad and Lower Sorbian grad, with dialectal Czech hraď.^[9][8][10]

Since Dobrovský it has been compared with Latin grandō (“hail”), which has a nasal infix, and Meillet added Old Armenian կարկուտ (karkut, “hail”), from an older reduplicated form.^[9][10][1] Derksen and Wiktionary also compare Sanskrit ह्रादुनि (hrādúni, “hailstone”), which ESJS finds phonetically uncertain and Vasmer keeps apart.^{[8][1][9][10]} Sadnik and Aitzetmüller and Vasmer connect Lithuanian grúodas (“frozen earth”), but ESJS and Derksen relate the Lithuanian word rather to Proto-Slavic *grǫda (“clod, lump”), and ESJS rejects the old comparison with Ancient Greek χάλαζα (khálaza, “hail”).^{[5][10][9][8]}

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Psalterium Sinaiticum it translates Ancient Greek χάλαζα (khálaza): ꙇзбі градомь віна ꙇхъ “he struck their vines with hail” (Ps 77, 47).^[6] The Euchologium Sinaiticum prays for deliverance отъ града носима боуреѭ “from hail carried by the storm” (Euch 14a 7).^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. hail, hailstones; a hailstorm; for χάλαζα.^[6][1]

Word family

• градьнъ