доуша

Forms

доуша (duša) f^[1] Also spelled душа.^[1] The manuscripts usually abbreviate it under a titlo (дш҃а), and the Codex Suprasliensis once writes дѫш-.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *duša (“soul”), from an earlier *duxja, a word of all the Slavic languages that first named the principle of life, which leaves people and animals with their last breath.^[3][1] The same word is Russian душа (duša), Ukrainian душа (duša), Belarusian душа (duša), Bulgarian душа (duša), Macedonian душа (duša), Serbo-Croatian dúša, Slovene dúša, Czech duše, Slovak duša, Polish dusza, Upper Sorbian duša and Lower Sorbian duša.^[3][4][1]

ESJS derives it, like доухъ, from a verb that Slavic keeps only in дъхнѫти and дꙑхати, while others take it directly from доухъ, which would make it a very old derivative.^[3][5][1] Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Balto-Slavic *dáusjāˀ and Proto-Indo-European *dʰowsyeh₂, from *dʰews- with the suffix *-yeh₂, and Derksen gives the same reconstruction.^[1][4] Lithuanian dvasià (“spirit, breath”) has the same suffix, and daũsios (“air, paradise”) the same grade of the root.^[3][4] Derksen also compares Gothic 𐌳𐌹𐌿𐍃 (dius, “wild animal”), and Wiktionary Gaulish dusios (“phantasm”).^[4][1] ESJS notes that Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ) and Latin anima went the same way from breath to soul.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the oldest Gospel manuscripts, the Codex Zographensis, the Codex Marianus and the Codex Assemanianus, доуша translates Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul, life”), as in не оубоꙇте сѧ оубиваѭштиіхъ тѣло • а д‹оу›шѧ не могѫшть оубити “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Mt 10, 28).^[2] Once, in the Savvina kniga, it renders Ancient Greek πνεῦμα (pneûma) where the other codices have доухъ (L 8, 55).^[6]

Semantic evolution

The SNSP counts more than 500 instances in the oldest manuscripts.^[2] Schumann counts two of its Gospel senses as semantic loans from ψυχή: life, as in the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep (J 10, 11), and a living person (Mc 3, 4, L 6, 9).^[7] Set phrases include отъ (вьсеѩ) доушѧ “with all one's heart”, for ἐκ ψυχῆς, прѣдати доушѫ “to die”, and ѥдиноѭ доушеѭ “with one mind”.^[6][2] The derived доушьнъ and доушевьнъ render ψυχικός, against доуховьнъ for πνευματικός, and many compounds copy Greek words in -ψυχος, such as малодоушьнъ and великодоушьнъ.^[3]

Miklosich finds the older sense of breath (πνοή) in a later text, and Serbian phrases for a gift made for one's soul.^[8] Later Church Slavonic kept the soul, life and person senses of the New Testament.^[9][10] Several Church Slavonic compounds passed into the modern Slavic languages, and Russian душа in the sense of a serf copies Middle Greek ψυχή.^[3][5]

Timeline

• End of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century – доуша renders ψυχή in the Euchologium Sinaiticum.^[11]
• 14th century – the Serbian Athonite translation of Gregory of Nyssa uses it for ψυχή.^[11]
• 1882–1885 – Giltebrandt lists the New Testament uses of the word in Church Slavonic.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. The soul, the mind; for ψυχή, πνεῦμα.^[6][2][1]
2. (figurative) life; for ψυχή.^[2][7]
3. A living being, a person; for ψυχή.^[7]

Word family

• доушьнъ
• доушевьнъ
• бездоушьнъ
• доушегоубьнъ
• благодоушиѥ
• ѥдинодоушиѥ
• малодоушьнъ
• великодоушьнъ

Related words

• доухъ
• дъхнѫти
• дꙑхати
• Russian душа (duša)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU
4. ^ 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. 127
5. ^ a b Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 1, 556
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c Schumann, Kurt (1958), Die griechischen Lehnbildungen und Lehnbedeutungen im Altbulgarischen, Veröffentlichungen der Abteilung für slavische Sprachen und Literaturen des Osteuropa-Instituts an der Freien Universität Berlin 16, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 33
8. ^ Miklosich, Franz (1862–1865), Lexicon palaeoslovenico-graeco-latinum emendatum auctum, Vindobonae: Braumüller
9. ^ a b Gil'tebrandt, P. A. (1882–1885), Spravočnyj i ob''jasnitel'nyj slovar' k Novomu Zavetu, 6 vols., Sankt-Peterburg
10. ^ Sedakova, O. A. (2005), Slovar' trudnyx slov iz bogosluženija: cerkovnoslavjano-russkie paronimy, Moskva: Grēko-latinskij kabinet Ju. A. Šičalina
11. ^ a b SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de