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сила

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Forms

сила (sila) f, a-stem[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *sila (“strength, force”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *séiˀlāˀ.[1][2] The word is common to all the Slavic languages: Bulgarian сила (síla), Macedonian сила (sila), Serbo-Croatian sȉla, Slovene síla, Slovak sila, Czech síla, Polish siła, Belarusian сіла (síla), Ukrainian сила (sýla) and Russian сила (síla), meaning physical or mental strength, often also violence, and in several of them “a great quantity, a crowd”.[3][4]

Only the link with Baltic is reasonably sure: Lithuanian síela (“soul, mind, spirit”) and Old Prussian seilin (“diligence”), an accusative singular.[3][2][4][5] Derksen calls the origin unknown.[2] ESJS gives two further explanations.[3] The first, of Trautmann, Pokorny and Vasmer, derives the word from a root Proto-Indo-European *sēi- (“to stretch out for”), with Old Irish sínim (“I stretch out”) and Old Norse seilask (“to stretch”).[3][4] The second, older one, of Miklosich and Brückner, takes a homonymous root meaning “to bind”, as in Lithuanian sieti (“to bind”), with “strength” from “binding fast”.[3][5] Comparisons with the Germanic words for “soul” are less likely.[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Gospels сила translates Ancient Greek δύναμις (dúnamis, “power”): сила ꙇз него ꙇсхождааше • ꙇ ицѣл҄ѣаше вьсѧ “power went out of him and healed them all” (L 6, 19) in the Zographensis, Marianus, Assemanianus and Savvina kniga.[6][7] The same manuscripts close the Lord's Prayer with ѣко твое естъ ц‹ѣ›с‹а›р‹ь›ствие • ꙇ сила и слава вь вѣкы “for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever” (Mt 6, 13).[7]

Semantic evolution

The SNSP counts more than 400 uses, for δύναμις, δυναστεία, ἰσχύς, ἐνέργεια and ἐξουσία.[7] The SJS divides them into strength and ability, physical strength (ῥώμη), the force of wind or fire, virtue (in translations from Latin, for virtus), and power or might.[6] By metonymy сила is God himself, in о деснѫѭ силꙑ “at the right hand of the Power” (Mt 26, 64), and in the plural the heavenly powers, one of the nine choirs of angels.[6][7] The plural силꙑ also means miracles, for δυνάμεις, a sense ESJS, after Schumann, counts as taken from Greek.[3][1] The phrase поѩти по силѣ renders ἀγγαρεύειν, to press someone into service (Mt 5, 41).[7][8] In the Euchologium Sinaiticum it also renders στράτευμα, an army, and Sadnik glosses the plural as “hosts”.[9][10]

ESJS lists further senses from the later texts: majesty, meaning or sense, wealth, and harvest.[3] Giltebrandt notes силꙑ небесныѧ for the firmament of heaven in the New Testament.[8]

Timeline

  • End of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century – the Euchologium Sinaiticum uses сила for δύναμις, ἰσχύς, δυναστεία and στράτευμα.[9]
  • 14th century – a Serbian Athonite translation of Gregory of Nyssa uses it for δύναμις and τόνος.[9]
  • 1882–1885 – Giltebrandt lists its New Testament uses for δύναμις, βία and τὸ δυνατόν.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. strength, ability, capacity; for δύναμις, ἰσχύς, ἐνέργεια.[6][7][1]
  2. Physical strength, vigour; for ῥώμη.[6]
  3. force, intensity (of wind, fire or water).[6]
  4. virtue, excellence; for Latin virtus.[6][1]
  5. power, might; for δυναστεία, δύναμις.[6][7]
  6. The Power (of God), and in the plural the heavenly powers, the angels.[6][7]
  7. majesty, glory; for δόξα.[6]
  8. In the plural: miracles, mighty works; for δυνάμεις.[1][10][8]
  9. An army, host; for στράτευμα.[9][10]

Word family

  • сильнъ
  • силити
  • насилиѥ
  • насилити
  • Russian сила (síla)

Usage notes

The SJS has a separate head сила for the personal name Silas, Greek Σίλας, the companion of Paul, in the Acts of the Apostles (A 15, 32, 17, 4).[6][7] Vasmer notes that the Russian name Сила comes from Σίλας and only resembles the noun by chance.[4]

Sedakova lists сила among the Church Slavonic words whose senses differ from Russian: besides strength and might, it means “meaning, sense”, as in силы гласа “the meaning of the speech” (1C 14, 11), and in the plural “miracles” (Mt 7, 22).[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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. 451
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 815–816
  4. ^ a b c d Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 3, 621
  5. ^ a b c Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 300
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b c d Gil'tebrandt, P. A. (1882–1885), Spravočnyj i ob''jasnitel'nyj slovar' k Novomu Zavetu, 6 vols., Sankt-Peterburg
  9. ^ a b c d SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de
  10. ^ a b c Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton
  11. ^ Sedakova, O. A. (2005), Slovar' trudnyx slov iz bogosluženija: cerkovnoslavjano-russkie paronimy, Moskva: Grēko-latinskij kabinet Ju. A. Šičalina