Etymologically
Log in

мощи

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 25 October 2026 at 03:52. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Forms

мощи (mošti) impf, present могѫ, можеши[1][2] Also spelled мошти, the form under which ESJS and Miklosich list the verb.[3][4][5] Wiktionary marks the verb perfective, while the SJS and SNSP class it as imperfective.[5][2][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *mogti (“to be able”), a verb of all the Slavic languages.[3][6][5] The same word is Russian мочь (močʹ), Bulgarian мога (moga), Serbo-Croatian moći, Slovene móči, Czech moci and Polish móc, meaning "to be able" and in some of them also "to be allowed" or "to know how".[3][6][5]

Since Trubetzkoy the Proto-Slavic verb has been explained as the relic of an old perfect without reduplication, on the strength of traces of athematic inflection and of its close match in Germanic, Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌲𐌰𐌽 (magan, “to be able”), Old High German magan and English may.[3] Derksen likewise takes the o of the Slavic and Germanic forms as the mark of an old perfect, reconstructing Proto-Indo-European *mogʰ-, and compares Lithuanian magė́ti (“to please”).[6] ESJS and Wiktionary trace the root to *megʰ- (“to be able”).[3][5]

Sadnik and Aitzetmüller add Ancient Greek μῆχος (mêkhos, “means, remedy”) and Ancient Greek μηχανή (mēkhanḗ, “device, tool”), while Wiktionary adds Sanskrit मघ (maghá, “power, gift”);[7][5][3] ESJS records that Meillet, Machek and Stang reject the Greek words and Mayrhofer the Sanskrit one.[7][5][3] A link with the words for "great", such as Latin magnus, fails on the sounds, since Indo-Iranian and Albanian point to a palatal velar.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Gospel manuscripts мощи translates Ancient Greek δύναμαι (dúnamai, “to be able”), as in како можете добро творити зьли сѫште "how can you do good, being evil?" (Mt 12, 34), in the Codex Zographensis, the Codex Marianus, the Codex Assemanianus and the Savvina kniga.[1] The SNSP counts more than 600 uses in the oldest manuscripts.[1]

Semantic evolution

Besides "to be able" with an infinitive, the canonical texts use the verb absolutely for "to be strong, to have power", for Ancient Greek δυνατέω (dunatéō) and Ancient Greek ἰσχύω (iskhúō), and its present participle могꙑ means "strong, mighty", for Ancient Greek δυνάστης (dunástēs).[2][3] It also serves as an auxiliary of a periphrastic future, and не мози with an infinitive forms a negative imperative ("do not…").[3][8] A large family grew from it: мощь "power", немощь "weakness, sickness", помощи "to help" and помощь "help", and вьсемогꙑ "almighty", which may follow Latin omnipotens.[3]

Russian took several of these from Church Slavonic, among them мощный "mighty", немощь and всемогущий.[3] Giltebrandt lists the Church Slavonic New Testament uses for δύνασθαι and ἰσχύειν, from мо́жетъ бг҃ъ (Mt 3, 9) on.[9]

Timeline

  • End of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century – the Euchologium Sinaiticum uses мощи for δύνασθαι and ἰσχύειν.[10]
  • 14th century – the Serbian Athonite translation of Gregory of Nyssa has it for δύναμαι and ἰσχύω, and the plural noun мощи for λείψανα "relics".[10]
  • 1882–1885 – Giltebrandt lists every New Testament use of the verb in Church Slavonic.[9]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To be able, can, with an infinitive; for δύνασθαι, ἰσχύειν.[2][1][5]
  2. Used absolutely: to be strong, to be powerful, to have power; for δυνατεῖν, ἰσχύειν.[2]
  3. Present participle могꙑ: strong, mighty; for δυνάστης.[2][3]

Word family

  • мощь
  • немощь
  • изнемощи
  • изнемагати
  • помощи
  • помагати
  • помощь
  • помощьникъ
  • поможениѥ
  • прѣнемощи
  • прѣнемагати
  • маломощь
  • немогꙑ
  • вьсемогꙑ
  • вельможа
  • Russian мочь (močʹ)
  • Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌲𐌰𐌽 (magan)

Usage notes

The plural noun мощи "relics", which the SJS lists as a separate head, is the plural of мощь "power", from the same root.[2][3] ESJS explains it as "the powers that work miracles", and records Vincenz's view that it is a calque of Latin virtutes in the sense of the relics of the saints;[3][11] Vasmer compares Greek δυνάμεις.[3][11] It renders Ancient Greek λείψανον (leípsanon) in Suprasliensis, the Codex Assemanianus and the Ochrid manuscripts, about 15 times in the oldest texts.[2][1] Dyachenko takes moki in the Freising manuscript as its oldest use.[12][4] Russian мощи "relics" comes from Church Slavonic.[11][3]

References

  1. ^ 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
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Kurz, Josef; Hauptová, Zoe (eds.) (1958–1997), Slovník jazyka staroslověnského / Lexicon linguae palaeoslovenicae, 4 vols. + supplements, Praha: Academia; digital ed. gorazd.org
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 492
  4. ^ a b Miklosich, Franz (1862–1865), Lexicon palaeoslovenico-graeco-latinum emendatum auctum, Vindobonae: Braumüller
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  6. ^ a b c Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 321
  7. ^ a b Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 270
  8. ^ Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton
  9. ^ a b Gil'tebrandt, P. A. (1882–1885), Spravočnyj i ob''jasnitel'nyj slovar' k Novomu Zavetu, 6 vols., Sankt-Peterburg
  10. ^ a b SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de
  11. ^ a b c Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 2, 668
  12. ^ D'jačenko, Grigorij (1899), Polnyj cerkovno-slavjanskij slovar', Moskva