Etymologically
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отъ

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Forms

отъ (otŭ)[1] Also written от, оть, ѡтъ, ѡть and abbreviated ѿ.[2][1] Fris has od four times, and Nik sometimes одъ.[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *otъ (“from”), found in all the Slavic languages with the meaning "from" in space and time.[3][4][1] The same word is Russian от (ot), Ukrainian від (vid), Bulgarian от (ot), Serbo-Croatian od, Slovene od, Czech od, Slovak od and Polish od.[3][4][5] The form without the final jer, *ot, is usually taken as the original one; the jer of OCS отъ would come from other prepositions ending in -ъ, such as къ, while Meillet thought both forms old.[3] The form with -d of most Slavic languages is secondary, explained either by assimilation before voiced consonants or by analogy with надъ and подъ.[3]

The Baltic prefixes Lithuanian at- (“back, away”), Latvian at- (“away, back”) and Old Prussian at- or et- match it in form and partly in meaning, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ati.[3][4][1] The further Indo-European connections are uncertain.[3] Derksen derives the word from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eti, the source of Ancient Greek ἔτι (éti, “yet, still”), Latin et (“and”) and the prefix Gothic 𐌹𐌳- (id-, “again”), and Wiktionary from its o-grade *h₁óti or from *h₂éti (“but”).[4][1][5] ESJS sets up an Indo-European *at- or *ot- and compares Gothic 𐌰𐌸𐌸𐌰𐌽 (aþþan, “but”) and Latin ad (“to”);[3][4] Derksen too thinks the first part of the Gothic word may be compared directly.[3][4] Machek held that two Indo-European prepositions merged in Slavic, which Kopečný rejected.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the oldest manuscripts отъ marks the starting point of a movement, as in възиде отъ водꙑ “he went up out of the water” (Mt 3, 16 Zogr As Sav).[2] The SNSP counts more than 1,500 occurrences, mostly for Ancient Greek ἀπό (apó), ἐκ (ek) and παρά (pará).[2]

Semantic evolution

From separation in space the canonical texts extend the preposition to time ("from that hour"), origin, the agent of a passive verb (for ὑπό), the material something is made of, the whole from which a part is taken, the person from whom something is asked, the object of verbs of fearing, a cause, a manner, and a comparison ("than", for παρά).[6][3] The other Slavic languages share most of these uses.[3] In the Euchologium Sinaiticum, of the end of the 9th or the beginning of the 10th century, it renders Ancient Greek ἀπό (apó), ἐκ (ek), παρά (pará), ὑπό (hupó) and διά (diá).[7]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. With the genitive: from, away from, out of (separation and movement); for ἀπό, ἐκ, παρά.[6][2][1]
  2. From, since (a point in time); for ἀπό, ἐκ.[6]
  3. From, of (origin); by (the agent of a passive verb); for παρά, ὑπό.[6]
  4. Of, out of (the material of a thing; the whole of which a part is meant).[6]
  5. From (the person who is asked or expected to give something); for παρά.[6]
  6. because of, for (a cause); for ἀπό, ἐκ.[6][1]
  7. With, from (the manner of an action); with regard to.[6]
  8. Than (in comparisons); for παρά.[6]
  9. Rarely: without, beyond.[6]

Usage notes

The same word is the verbal prefix отъ-, before vowels and some consonants от-, sometimes reduced to о-.[3] Van Wijk took the form od(ъ) of Fris and Nik for a Pannonian feature.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 607
  4. ^ a b c d e f Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 382
  5. ^ a b Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 3, 168
  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. ^ SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de