цѣсарь

Forms

цѣсарь (cěsarʹĭ) m, o-stem.^[1] Glagolitic ⱌⱑⱄⰰⱃⱐ.^[1] The SJS has its entry under the contracted form цар҄ь, and Wiktionary also records чѣсарь.^[2][1] The manuscripts mostly abbreviate it under a titlo, as цр҃ь or цс҃рь.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *cěsařь (“emperor, king”), borrowed from Germanic, which had the word from Latin Caesar, the name of Julius Caesar that became part of the Roman emperor's title.^[1] The same word is Russian царь (carʹ), Ukrainian цісар (cisar), Bulgarian цар (car), Serbo-Croatian cȁr, Slovene cesar, Czech císař, Slovak cisár and Polish cesarz.^[1][4]

In the view of Sadnik–Aitzetmüller, Kiparsky and Wiktionary the Slavic word is from Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐌹𐍃𐌰𐍂 (kaisar).^[5][4][1] Kiparsky counts it among the Common Slavic loans from Gothic, with Miklosich, Meillet and Berneker, but notes that the Slavic ending is not the expected outcome of the Gothic one.^[4] He explains it by adaptation to the agent suffix -арь, already found in ten nouns in the oldest texts, rather than by Stender-Petersen's unattested Gothic *kaisāreis.^[4] He also rejects the other proposed sources: an early Romance word (Jireček, Mladenov), Latin caesārius (Skok), Old High German keisar (Brückner) and Greek, since Greek gave Church Slavonic a form with k-; he adds Bartoli's historical argument that the Slavs had the title from the Germans.^[4] Wiktionary too thinks the Old High German and Old Saxon forms less likely donors, and calls the exact Germanic source hard to determine.^[1]

The forms with k-, кесарь and the possessive кесаревъ, are later borrowings from Ancient Greek καῖσαρ (kaîsar), reshaped after цѣсарь.^[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Gospel manuscripts the chief priests answer Pilate не имамъ цѣсарѣ тъкмо кесарѣ “we have no king but Caesar” (J 19, 15), where the Codex Zographensis, the Marianus and the Assemanianus write the word under a titlo;^[2][3] цѣсарь renders Ancient Greek βασιλεύς (basileús, “king”) here, and кесарь Greek Καῖσαρ.^[2][3] The Psalterium Sinaiticum uses it of God: богъ же цѣсарь нашь прѣжде вѣка “God is our king of old” (Ps 73, 12).^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The SNSP, with more than 500 uses in the oldest manuscripts, separates the king or ruler (βασιλεύς, Ancient Greek ἄρχων (árkhōn), Ancient Greek κύριος (kúrios)), God as king, and the Roman emperor (Ancient Greek αὐτοκράτωρ (autokrátōr), Ancient Greek σεβαστός (sebastós)).^[3][2] For the emperor the Gospels mostly have кесарь: in Mt 22, 21 the Savvina kniga has цѣсареви where the Marianus and the Ostromir Gospel have кесареви.^[2] SlaVaComp records it for βασιλεύς in the Euchologium Sinaiticum, in a 14th-century Serbian translation of Gregory of Nyssa and in a Serbian manuscript of Rila.^[6] Miklosich lists the later spellings цесарь, цьсарь and цасарь.^[7]

Kiparsky dates Bulgarian царь from 917, and gives 1547 to 1721 as the years when царь was the official Russian title, while Russian цесарь was kept for the Roman emperor.^[4]

Timeline

• End of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century – цѣсарь renders βασιλεύς in the Euchologium Sinaiticum.^[6]
• 917 – Kiparsky dates the contracted Bulgarian form царь from this year.^[4]
• 14th century – the Serbian Athonite translation of Gregory of Nyssa uses it for βασιλεύς.^[6]
• 1547–1721 – царь is the official title of the Russian ruler.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A king, ruler, sovereign; for βασιλεύς, ἄρχων.^[2][3][1]
2. God as king.^[3]
3. The Roman emperor, Caesar; for Καῖσαρ, αὐτοκράτωρ, σεβαστός.^[2][3][1]

Word family

• цѣсарьство
• цѣсарьствиѥ
• цѣсарица
• цѣсарити
• цѣсарьствовати
• оуцѣсарити

Usage notes

The same spelling is the possessive adjective цѣсар҄ь “the king's, royal; imperial”, for Ancient Greek βασιλικός (basilikós), as in цѣсар҄ь мѫжь “a king's officer” (J 4, 49) and полатꙑ цѣсарѩ “the royal palace”.^[3][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kurz, Josef; Hauptová, Zoe (eds.) (1958–1997), Slovník jazyka staroslověnského / Lexicon linguae palaeoslovenicae, 4 vols. + supplements, Praha: Academia; digital ed. gorazd.org
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kiparsky, Valentin (1934), Die gemeinslavischen Lehnwörter aus dem Germanischen, Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae B XXXII,2, Helsinki, p. 194
5. ^ a b Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 220
6. ^ a b c SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de
7. ^ Miklosich, Franz (1862–1865), Lexicon palaeoslovenico-graeco-latinum emendatum auctum, Vindobonae: Braumüller