Etymologically
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оу

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Forms

оу (u)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *u (“away from; at, near”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *au, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew (“away from”).[1] The same word is Russian у (u), Ukrainian у (u), Bulgarian у (u), Serbo-Croatian u, Czech u, Slovak u and Polish u.[2]

Its relatives outside Slavic have the sense “away”: the prefix of Latin au- in auferō (“to carry away”) and aufugiō (“to flee”), Old Prussian aumūsnan (“washing off”), Lithuanian au- and Avestan ava.[3][2][1] Vasmer adds Old Irish ó and Gothic 𐌰𐌿𐌸𐌴𐌹𐍃 (auþeis, “desolate”), from a form meaning “remote”, and sees the same relation between *au and the Indo-Iranian form as between Latin ab and Ancient Greek ἀπό (apó).[2] For the sense “at”, Sadnik and Vasmer compare the Illyrian tribal name Autariatae, “those who live on the Tara river”.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Gospels it governs the genitive.[4][5] Of place: единого оу главꙑ • ꙇединого оу ногоу “one at the head and the other at the feet” (J 20, 12), in the Marianus and the Assemanianus, for Ancient Greek πρός (prós).[5][4] Of the person from whom something comes: аште чесо просите оу о‹ть›ца “whatever you ask of the Father” (J 16, 23) in the Zographensis, where the Marianus has отъ.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

The SJS orders its senses from motion away from someone (for Ancient Greek παρά (pará) with the genitive and ἀπό (apó)) to position near a person, a thing or a place (for ἐπί (epí), πρός, παρά), being among people, possession (“at the father's”, where other manuscripts have a bare genitive), respect (“before God”, for παρὰ τῷ θεῷ), and the agent of an action, as in ꙇже ꙇ оучи сѧ оу ꙇ‹соу›са “who was also a disciple of Jesus” (Mt 27, 57).[4][5] In some manuscripts (Nika, Hilf, Hval) it also takes the accusative of direction, “into”, where the others have въ.[4] The Euchologium uses it for Ancient Greek ἐν (en) and εἰς (eis), and Serbian translations of the 14th and 15th centuries for παρά.[6]

Timeline

  • End of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century – the Euchologium translation uses оу for ἐν and εἰς.[6]
  • Up to the beginning of the 15th century – a Serbian translation from the Rila monastery uses it for παρά.[6]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. (with genitive) from, of, away from a person; for παρά, ἀπό.[4][5][1]
  2. (with genitive) at, near, beside; among, with a person; for πρός, παρά, ἐπί.[4][5][1]
  3. (with genitive) in someone's possession, belonging to.[4][5]
  4. (with genitive) with regard to, before; for παρά.[4]
  5. (with genitive) by, marking the agent; for ὑπό.[4][5]
  6. (with accusative, in some manuscripts) into; for εἰς.[4]

Usage notes

The same spelling is also the adverb “already”, in не оу “not yet” (J 7, 39 Mar As, where the Zographensis has не ю) and as an intensifying particle.[4][5] Sadnik derives it from Proto-Slavic *ju, beside оуже and its variant юже, with the j- lost first after ne.[7][8] An interjection оу “ah, alas” occurs in оу горе мьнѣ “woe is me”, for Ancient Greek οἴμμοι (oímmoi), in the Codex Suprasliensis.[4][2]

The prefix оу-, of the same origin, forms verbs such as оумрѣти and оумꙑти.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 4, 142
  3. ^ a b Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 324
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Kurz, Josef; Hauptová, Zoe (eds.) (1958–1997), Slovník jazyka staroslověnského / Lexicon linguae palaeoslovenicae, 4 vols. + supplements, Praha: Academia; digital ed. gorazd.org
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
  6. ^ a b c SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de
  7. ^ Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 326
  8. ^ Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 4, 151–152