на

Forms

на (na)^[1] Glagolitic ⱀⰰ.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *na (“on, onto”), a preposition of all the Slavic languages.^[2][3] The same word is Russian на (na), Bulgarian на (na), Serbo-Croatian na, Slovene nà, Czech na, Slovak na, Polish na, Upper Sorbian na and Lower Sorbian na.^[2][1][3]

Derksen and Wiktionary derive it from Proto-Balto-Slavic *nō, which also gave the Baltic words Lithuanian nuo (“from, off”), Latvian nuo (“from”) and Old Prussian no or na (“onto, against, over”); in Lithuanian the same word is a noun prefix nuo- and a verbal prefix nu- meaning "away, down".^[2][1][4][3] Further back, Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-, and Vasmer and Sadnik compare Ancient Greek ἀνά (aná, “on, up”), ἄνω (ánō, “upwards”) and Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana, “on, in, against”).^[1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Gospel manuscripts already use на with the accusative for motion onto a surface, as in привали камень на двьри гроба “he rolled a stone onto the door of the tomb” (Mc 15, 46 Zogr Mar As Ostr), for Greek ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν.^[5] The SNSP counts more than 4,000 occurrences in the oldest manuscripts, where it renders Ancient Greek εἰς (eis), ἐπί (epí), ἐν (en), πρός (prós) and κατά (katá).^[6]

Semantic evolution

With the accusative the preposition marks motion onto something, towards a gathering or a direction, hostility ("against"), the object of believing and hoping, a span of time, and a purpose; with the locative it marks position on or at a place, the means, and a price or measure.^[5][6] A few uses are rare: a cause, a position above something (where надъ is the usual word), and in the Homilies of Gregory (Bes), where it renders Latin a, a separation.^[5] In the Euchologium Sinaiticum, a translation of the end of the 9th or the beginning of the 10th century, it renders Ancient Greek κατά (katá), πρός (prós), εἰς (eis), ὑπό (hupó) and χαμαί (khamaí, “on the ground”).^[7]

In Russian the prefix на- also became an intensifier (на́больший, на́крепко), and the superlative prefix наи- of Church Slavonic and several Slavic languages is на joined to a deictic particle -i.^[3]

Meanings

Preposition

1. With the accusative: onto, on, to (motion towards a surface, a gathering or a direction); for ἐπί, εἰς, πρός, κατά.^[5][6][1]
2. With the accusative: against (hostility); for κατά, ἐπί.^[5]
3. With the accusative after verbs of believing and hoping: in, on; for ἐπί, εἰς.^[5]
4. With the accusative: for, at (a time or a span of time); for εἰς, ἐπί.^[5]
5. With the accusative: for, to (a purpose); for εἰς, πρός.^[5]
6. With the locative: on, at, in (position on or at a place); for ἐν, ἐπί.^[5][6][1]
7. With the locative: by means of; for a price.^[5]

Word family

• надъ

Usage notes

As a verbal prefix на- has the same origin as the preposition.^[3]

The SJS lists a separate interjection на “here you are, take”, found once, in тѣ на ти дари мнози (Meth 5), which ESJS derives from a deictic interjection and not from the preposition.^[5][8]

на is also the accusative dual of the first-person pronoun, “us two”.^[9][10][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 344
3. ^ a b c d e f g Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 3, 33
4. ^ a b Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 273
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. ^ SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de
8. ^ Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 522
9. ^ Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton
10. ^ Miklosich, Franz (1862–1865), Lexicon palaeoslovenico-graeco-latinum emendatum auctum, Vindobonae: Braumüller