малъ

Forms

малъ (malŭ) (comparative мьн҄ии)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *malъ (“small”), found in all the Slavic languages.^[2][3][1] The same word is Russian малый (mályj), Bulgarian мал (mal), Serbo-Croatian mȃl, Slovene máli, Czech malý and Polish mały.^[2][3][4]

ESJS calls the origin unclear: there is no common Indo-European word for "small", and the comparisons proposed fit the meaning better than the form.^[2] The Slavic word has most often been compared with Ancient Greek μῆλον (mêlon, “small cattle, sheep”), Old Irish míl (“animal”), Old High German smal (“small”) and Old Norse smali (“small livestock, sheep”), sometimes also with Latin malus (“bad”).^[2][4][3][1] Derksen reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *moh₁-lo- and rejects a link with the root *melH- (“to grind”), which Varbot advocated, because of the acute root vowel.^[3] ESJS, on the other hand, does not exclude the link with *melH- (compare Czech drobný (“small”) beside drobit (“to crumble”)), and also considers a secondary or expressive lengthening of the vowel, as in other Slavic adjectives for "small".^[2]

Other proposals listed by ESJS connect it with Ancient Greek μῶλυς (mōlus, “weary”) (Meillet), with a root meaning "to toil" (Vaillant), with Old Prussian malnijks (“child”) (Fortunatov), or trace it to an Italic element in the formation of Slavic, comparing malus (Martynov).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Gospels малъ renders Ancient Greek μικρός (mikrós, “small”), as in the story of Zacchaeus, не можааше видѣти народомь ѣко тѣломь малъ бѣ “he could not see for the crowd, because he was small of stature” (L 19, 3, Zogr Mar As Ostr).^[5][6] The SNSP counts more than two hundred occurrences in the oldest manuscripts.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The SJS divides the senses by what is measured: size or strength, for μικρός and ἐλάχιστος; number, "few", for Ancient Greek ὀλίγος (olígos), as in по малѣхъ дьнехъ “after a few days” (Supr 532, 1); and time, "short, brief", as in прѣбꙑ оу н҄его годъ малъ “he stayed with him a short time” (Supr 289, 29).^[5] As a byname, Малꙑи renders Μικρός for James the Less.^[2][6] The neuter мало means "a little", and many adverbial phrases grew from it: по малоу "little by little", въ малѣ "briefly, in short", на малѣ "for a while".^[5][2] The comparative is suppletive, мьнии.^[1]

Church Slavonic compounds in мало-, such as малодоушьнъ "faint-hearted" for ὀλιγόψυχος and маловѣръ "of little faith" for ὀλιγόπιστος, spread to the modern Slavic languages.^[2]

Timeline

• End of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century – the Euchologium Sinaiticum uses малъ for μικρός.^[7]
• 14th century – the Serbian Athonite translation of Gregory of Nyssa uses it for μικρός, ὀλίγος and βραχύς.^[7]
• 1882–1885 – Giltebrandt lists its New Testament uses for ἐλάχιστος, μικρός and βραχύ.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. small, little, in size or strength; for μικρός, ἐλάχιστος.^[5][6][1][9]
2. Few, small in number; for ὀλίγος.^[5][9]
3. short, brief; for βραχύς, ὀλίγος.^[5]
4. (neuter, as a noun) A little, a small thing; for μικρόν, ὀλίγον.^[5][9]

Word family

• мало
• оумалити
• мальчькъ
• малодоушьнъ
• маловѣръ

Related words

• мьнии

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 452
3. ^ 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. 300
4. ^ a b Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 2, 564
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 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. ^ a b SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de
8. ^ Gil'tebrandt, P. A. (1882–1885), Spravočnyj i ob''jasnitel'nyj slovar' k Novomu Zavetu, 6 vols., Sankt-Peterburg
9. ^ a b c Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton