Etymologically
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прьвъ

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Forms

прьвъ (prĭvŭ); Glagolitic ⱂⱃⱐⰲⱏ[1] Long (definite) form прьвꙑи; comparative прьвѣи.[2][3] The oldest Gospel manuscripts mostly spell it пръв-.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *pьrvъ (“first”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *pírˀwas, from Proto-Indo-European *pr̥h₂wós.[1][4] Derksen writes the Indo-European form as *prH-uo-.[4] The same word is Russian первый (pervyj), Bulgarian пръв (prăv), Serbo-Croatian pȓvī, Slovene pȓvi, Czech prvý and Polish pierwszy.[4][5][1]

Its closest relatives are Lithuanian pìrmas (“first”), Latvian pìrmaĩs and Old Prussian pirmas, whose suffix *-m-* Derksen takes as analogical, the same suffix as in Latin prīmus.[4] Further afield it matches Sanskrit पूर्व (pū́rva, “foremost, previous, first”), Albanian parë (“first”) and Old English forwost (“first, leader”).[1][5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is common in the Gospel manuscripts (Zographensis, Marianus, Assemanianus, Savvina kniga) and in the Suprasliensis, where it translates Ancient Greek πρῶτος (prôtos, “first”).[2][3] An example is мьноѕи же бѫдѫтъ пръвии послѣдьнии • ꙇ послѣдьнии пръвии “but many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Mt 19, 30, Marianus).[3]

Semantic evolution

Besides the ordinal number, the SJS records the senses “former, earlier” (for πρότερος, ὁ ἔμπροσθεν), “ancient, of old” (for ἀρχαῖος, παλαιός) and “foremost, most important”.[3] With the genitive, пръвѣи мене renders πρῶτός μου “before me” (J 1, 15).[3] The phrase пръваꙗ сѫбота is the first day of the week, Sunday, for μία σαββάτων (Mt 28, 1).[3] Adverbial phrases such as въ пръвꙑихъ and въ пръвоѥ mean “first of all” or “for the first time”.[3]

In Church Slavonic compounds прьво- often stands for Greek ἀρχι-, as in the Russian Church Slavonic word for an archangel.[5]

Timeline

  • End of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century – the word appears in the Slavonic translation of Germanus' ecclesiastical history.[6]
  • Up to the beginning of the 15th century – a Serbian translation kept in the Rila monastery uses it for πρῶτος.[6]

Meanings

Numeral

  1. first (ordinal number); for πρῶτος.[3][2][1]
  2. (adjective) former, earlier, previous; for πρότερος.[3]
  3. (adjective) ancient, of old; for ἀρχαῖος, παλαιός.[3]
  4. (adjective) Foremost, leading, most important; for πρῶτος.[3]

Word family

  • прьво
  • прьвѣѥ
  • съпрьва
  • Russian первый (pervyj)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 Kurz, Josef; Hauptová, Zoe (eds.) (1958–1997), Slovník jazyka staroslověnského / Lexicon linguae palaeoslovenicae, 4 vols. + supplements, Praha: Academia; digital ed. gorazd.org
  4. ^ a b c d e Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 430
  5. ^ a b c Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 3, 235
  6. ^ a b SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de