чловѣкъ

Forms

чловѣкъ (člověkŭ) m, o-stem^[1] In the manuscripts it is mostly written with a titlo, as чл҃къ, чл҃вкъ or чк҃ъ.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *čelověkъ (“human being”), a word of all the Slavic languages.^[4][5][1] The same word is Russian человек (čelovek), Ukrainian чоловік (čolovik, “man, husband”), Bulgarian човек (čovek), Serbo-Croatian čovjek, Slovene človek, Czech člověk, Slovak človek and Polish człowiek.^[4][5][6] The OCS form is usually explained as a shortening of a much used word: ESJS follows Machek in taking it as an allegro form of *čelověkъ, while Derksen allows a Proto-Slavic *čьlověkъ with the vowel raised before the stress, which Sadnik and Aitzetmüller think unnecessary.^[4][5][7] The shortened Slavic form was borrowed as Latvian cilvēks (“human being”).^[6]

Since Zimmer the word has generally been taken as an old compound.^[4][6] Its first part belongs with челꙗдь (“household, servants”) and Lithuanian kẽlias (“family, tribe”), and its second with Lithuanian vaĩkas (“child, boy”), Latvian vaiks (“boy”) and Old Prussian waix (“servant”).^[4][5][7][6] Opinions differ on the motivation: “child of the clan” is one reading, but ESJS holds that “child” was not the first sense of the Baltic words, which it derives from a root for exerting strength, and with Havlová and Machek it explains *čelověkъ as “worker or fighter of the household”, with the second part an agent noun beside вѣкъ (“strength; age”).^[4] Other proposals, such as a non-compound word (Miklosich) or a word for a Slav blended with челꙗдь (Otrębski), have found little support.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is one of the commonest nouns of the oldest manuscripts, with more than 1,000 occurrences in the SNSP, and translates Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos).^[2] In the Codex Marianus: еже оубо богъ съчета чловѣкъ да не разлѫчаатъ “what God has joined together, let man not put asunder” (Mt 19, 6).^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the canonical texts the word means a human being, a person, and, as the SJS sets out, also a man as against a woman (for ἀνήρ), a servant or subject (for δοῦλος), and an indefinite “someone”; with the demonstrative it can stand for “he”, and the vocative чловѣче addresses the hearer.^[3] The plural чловѣци appears mainly where the Greek has οἱ ἄνθρωποι; otherwise the plural “people” is людиѥ.^[4][3] Many compounds translate Greek compounds, such as чловѣколюбиѥ “love of mankind” and чловѣкооубиица “murderer”, and въчловѣчити сѧ renders the Greek “to become man”.^[4]

Later Church Slavonic keeps the word for ἄνθρωπος;^[8][9] SlaVaComp records it so in the Serbian Athonite translation of Gregory of Nyssa of the 14th century.^[8][9]

Timeline

• End of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century – чловѣкъ renders ἄνθρωπος in the Euchologium Sinaiticum.^[8]
• 14th century – the Serbian Athonite translation of Gregory of Nyssa uses it for ἄνθρωπος.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A human being, member of mankind; in the plural, people; for ἄνθρωπος, βροτός.^[3][2][1]
2. A person, an individual; with a demonstrative, “this man, he”; in the vocative, addressing the hearer.^[3]
3. A man, a male; for ἀνήρ.^[3]
4. A servant, subject, someone's man; for δοῦλος.^[3]
5. Someone, anyone.^[3]

Word family

• чловѣчь
• чловѣчьнъ
• чловѣчьскъ
• чловѣчьство
• нечловѣкъ
• чловѣколюбиѥ
• чловѣколюбьць
• чловѣкооубиица

Related words

• вѣкъ
• челꙗдь
• Russian человек (čelovek)

Usage notes

For “man” as against “woman” the canonical Gospels mostly have мѫжь: in L 5, 8 the Codex Zographensis and the Codex Marianus have мѫжь for ἀνήρ, where later homilies quoting the verse write чловѣкъ.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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 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 f g h i Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 109–110
5. ^ a b c d Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 80
6. ^ a b c d Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 4, 328–329
7. ^ a b Sadnik, Linda; Aitzetmüller, Rudolf (1955), Handwörterbuch zu den altkirchenslavischen Texten, Heidelberg: Winter / 's-Gravenhage: Mouton, p. 223
8. ^ a b c d SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de
9. ^ a b Miklosich, Franz (1862–1865), Lexicon palaeoslovenico-graeco-latinum emendatum auctum, Vindobonae: Braumüller