Etymologically
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нарицати

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Forms

нарицати (naricati) impf[1] Beside the present нарицаѭ, нарицаѥши there is наричѫ, наричеши, found 19 times in the Suprasliensis.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *naricati (“to name, call”), the imperfective of *narekti (OCS нарещи); its root has a lengthened form of the reduced grade, the grade of the imperative рьци and of Czech řku (“I say”).[3][4] The verb is also Bulgarian наричам (naričam), Serbo-Croatian naricati and Old East Slavic нарицати (naricati), and in Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian dialects it also means to lament the dead.[3]

The base *rekti (“to say”) is most often compared with Sanskrit रचयति (racáyati, “arranges, makes”), Gothic 𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌽 (rahnjan, “to reckon”), German rechnen (“to count”) and Tocharian B reki (“word”), and traced to Proto-Indo-European *rek- (“to arrange, determine”), with a shift of meaning towards speaking.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Gospels use it for Ancient Greek καλέω (kaléō, “to call”): д‹а›в‹ꙑ›дъ д‹оу›хомъ г‹оспод›а нарицаетъ і “David in the spirit calls him Lord” (Mt 22, 45 Mar As Sav Ostr), and in the passive for the name of a place, въ градъ да‹вꙑ›довъ • ꙇже нарицаетъ сѧ витⸯьлеемъ “to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem” (L 2, 4 Zogr As Sav Ostr).[6] The Zographensis, Marianus and Assemanianus also have самъ оубо да‹вꙑ›дъ нарицаетъ і г‹оспод›ѣ “David himself calls him Lord” (Mc 12, 37).[2]

Semantic evolution

Besides calling and naming, for καλεῖν, λέγειν and ὀνομάζειν, the verb means mentioning by name, and its passive participle нарицаѥмъ renders λεγόμενος, “so-called”, as the court of the high priest нарицаемаго каꙇѣфа “who was called Caiaphas” (Mt 26, 3).[6] With Ancient Greek ἐπικαλέω (epikaléō) in the middle voice it means to invoke, as those нарицаѭштꙙѧ имѧ хри[со]стово “who call on the name of Christ” (Supr 174, 16), to appeal to Caesar (A 25, 12) and to call God as witness (2C 1, 23).[6][2] In the Epistle to the Hebrews and the Nomocanon it renders ὁρίζειν, to set or appoint a day or a time (Hb 4, 7).[6]

Old Russian texts have the same senses, from the Ostromir Gospel on, and add “to proclaim” and “to call for help”.[3] Giltebrandt glosses the New Testament uses as “to name” and, for ἐπικαλεῖσθαι, “to demand judgement”, and Dyachenko gives the variants нарѣцати and наричати.[7][8] Russian archaic нарицать “to name” is taken from Church Slavonic.[4]

Timeline

  • End of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century – нарицати in the Slavonic translation of the ecclesiastical history from the western regions of the First Bulgarian Empire.[9]
  • 1057 – the Old Russian Ostromir Gospel has нарицати and the passive нарицатися.[3]
  • 1073 – the Izbornik of 1073 uses it for calling for help.[3]
  • 1882–1885 – Giltebrandt lists its New Testament uses in Church Slavonic.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To call, name, give a name; for καλεῖν, λέγειν, ὀνομάζειν.[6][2][1]
  2. To name, mention; for λέγειν.[6][2]
  3. нарицаѥмъ called, so-called; for λεγόμενος.[6]
  4. To invoke, call upon; for ἐπικαλεῖσθαι.[6]
  5. To appeal to someone; to call as witness; for ἐπικαλεῖσθαι.[6]
  6. To set, appoint; for ὁρίζειν.[6]

Word family

  • нарицаниѥ
  • нарещи
  • рещи
  • прорицати
  • оурицати
  • Russian нарицательный (naricatelʹnyj)

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e 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 Trubačev, Oleg N.; Žuravlev, Anatolij F.; Varbot, Žanna Ž. (eds.) (1974–2021), Ètimologičeskij slovar' slavjanskix jazykov: praslavjanskij leksičeskij fond, vols. 1–42, Moskva: Nauka, p. 22, 246
  4. ^ a b c Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU
  5. ^ Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 293
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Gil'tebrandt, P. A. (1882–1885), Spravočnyj i ob''jasnitel'nyj slovar' k Novomu Zavetu, 6 vols., Sankt-Peterburg
  8. ^ D'jačenko, Grigorij (1899), Polnyj cerkovno-slavjanskij slovar', Moskva
  9. ^ SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de