лице

Forms

лице (lice) n, s-stem^[1] The Codex Suprasliensis also has forms of an s-stem, such as the genitive личесе.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *līcè (“cheek, face”), a word of all the Slavic languages except Polabian.^[2][5][1] The same word is Russian лицо (licó), Ukrainian лице (lycé), Serbo-Croatian líce, Slovene líce, Czech líce and Polish lico; besides the face or cheek it names the outer or right side of something, a façade, an appearance, a person and a portrait.^[6][4]

Most explanations start from an older noun Proto-Slavic *likъ, continued in лик (lik, “face, image”).^[7][8] It is most often compared with Old Prussian laygnan (“cheek”) and Old Irish lecco (“cheek, jaw”), as by Stokes, Berneker and Vasmer;^[7][8][9] Wiktionary reconstructs Proto-Balto-Slavic *léikan and Proto-Indo-European *léykom (“cheek”).^[1] Others connect it with Ancient Greek ἀλίγκιος (alínkios, “like, similar”), which Frisk and Vasmer reject.^[7][8] Trubachev derives it from *liti (“to pour”), from the idea of a likeness cast in metal or wax, which would also explain the c, since the third palatalization of a root consonant is otherwise unknown.^[7] Derksen, noting that this palatalization is not thought to have acted after the diphthong ei, suggests that the root first had zero grade.^[5]

ESJS thinks a link with Lithuanian lýgus (“equal”) less likely, and both Berneker and Vasmer reject Hirt's idea of a borrowing from Gothic.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Gospel manuscripts it renders Ancient Greek πρόσωπον (prósōpon, “face”): тъгда запл҄ьвашѧ лиц-е-го “then they spat in his face” (Mt 26, 67, Zographensis, Marianus, Assemanianus, Savvina kniga, Ostromir Gospel).^[10] The dictionary of the oldest manuscripts counts more than 300 occurrences.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Besides πρόσωπον, the canonical texts use the word for Ancient Greek ὄψις (ópsis), Ancient Greek μέτωπον (métōpon), Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr), Ancient Greek εἰκών (eikṓn) and Ancient Greek ὑπόστασις (hupóstasis): from the face it came to mean an appearance or likeness (лице оубо н‹е›б‹е›си оумѣете расѫждати “you know how to judge the face of the sky”, Mt 16, 3), a person, an essence and, in theology, a hypostasis.^[10][3] Several phrases follow Greek ones: лицемь къ лицоу “face to face” (1C 13, 12), без лица “shamelessly” for Ancient Greek ἀπρόσωπον (aprósōpon), and на лице зьрѣти “to show partiality” for Ancient Greek προσωπολημπτεῖν (prosōpolēmpteîn).^[10][3] ESJS calls the last a partial calque of a Septuagint Hebraism, and the many periphrases such as прѣдъ лицемь господьнемь “before the Lord” calques of Greek phrases mostly modelled on Hebrew.^[2]

In later Church Slavonic the word kept the sense of hypostasis, and in phrases such as пред лицем it is often a mere pleonasm.^[11]

Timeline

• End of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century – it renders πρόσωπον and πρόσοψις in the Slavonic Euchologium.^[12]
• 14th century – a Serbian translation of Gregory of Nyssa made on Mount Athos uses it for πρόσωπον, ὄψις and προσωπεῖον.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. The face, cheek; for πρόσωπον, πρόσοψις, μέτωπον.^[10][3][1]
2. Outward look, appearance, likeness; for ὄψις, χαρακτήρ.^[3][1]
3. The front or surface of something.^[10][1]
4. A person.^[3][1]
5. Essence;^[3][1][11] (theology) hypostasis; for ὑπόστασις.^[3][1][11]

Word family

• изобличати
• лицемѣриѥ
• лицемѣрьствиѥ
• мъноголичьнъ
• обличати
• обличити
• различиѥ
• различь
• съличьно

Related words

• Russian лицо (licó)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 420
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
4. ^ a b Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 2, 506
5. ^ a b Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill
6. ^ Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 420–421
7. ^ a b c d e Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 421
8. ^ a b c d Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 2, 495–496
9. ^ Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 262
10. ^ a b c d e Kurz, Josef; Hauptová, Zoe (eds.) (1958–1997), Slovník jazyka staroslověnského / Lexicon linguae palaeoslovenicae, 4 vols. + supplements, Praha: Academia; digital ed. gorazd.org
11. ^ a b c D'jačenko, Grigorij (1899), Polnyj cerkovno-slavjanskij slovar', Moskva
12. ^ a b SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de