Etymologically
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ѥдинъ

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Forms

ѥдинъ (jedinŭ)[1] Wiktionary has its main entry under the spelling единъ (edinŭ).[1] The variant ѥдьнъ is rare in the canonical manuscripts and found mostly in the Codex Suprasliensis.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Slavic *edinъ (“one”), a word of all the Slavic languages.[2][4][1] The same word is Russian один (odín), Bulgarian един (edín), Macedonian еден (eden), Serbo-Croatian jèdan, Czech jeden, Polish jeden, Upper Sorbian jedyn and Lower Sorbian jaden.[2][4][5] Forms that kept the vowel i in the whole paradigm took the stronger sense “only, sole”, as in Czech jediný and Polish jedyny.[2]

ESJS takes the full vowel of the second syllable as original, shortened to a jer in rapid speech, which is Vondrák's view; it has replaced Fortunatov's older derivation of a form with a jer from Proto-Indo-European *ino-, accepted by Šachmatov, Meillet, Pedersen, Berneker and Vaillant, which explained the full vowel by analogy with the simple numeral.[2] Vasmer too thinks the shortening happened in the separate languages rather than in Proto-Slavic.[5] Derksen holds the forms with a jer to be analogical and compares the vowel of the second syllable to a tense jer.[4]

The word is a compound whose second part is the numeral инъ (“one”); since инъ came to mean “other”, the compound kept “one” apart from it.[2] The first part is usually connected with the particle ѥда, with the first part of ѥдъва and perhaps with етеръ.[2] ESJS sets out three explanations: an Indo-European demonstrative *ed, a combination of two Proto-Slavic particles, or the relative pronoun *jod.[2] Vasmer prefers the pronominal stem *e-, comparing Latin ecce (“behold”) and ecquis (“is there anyone?”), and finds the link with that particle and Sanskrit यदा (yadā́, “when”) less likely.[5] Derksen calls the origin of the first element unclear.[4] Wiktionary reconstructs Proto-Balto-Slavic *edīˀnas and Proto-Indo-European *h₁edʰ-(H)iHnos, with the second element from *h₁óy(H)nos, and compares Lithuanian vienas, Latvian viens and Old Prussian ains.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is in all the canonical manuscripts, more than 1,000 times by the count of the SNSP, and renders Ancient Greek εἷς (heîs, “one”).[3][6] In Mt 18, 16 the Codex Marianus has поими пакꙑ съ собоѭ единого ли дъва “take with you one or two more”, and in J 10, 30 the Zographensis and Marianus have азъ и отьць едино есвѣ “I and the Father are one”.[6]

Semantic evolution

Besides the cardinal “one”, also in compound numerals such as ѥдинъ на десѧте “eleven”, the canonical texts use it as an ordinal “first”, for Ancient Greek πρῶτος (prôtos).[6][2] As a pronoun it means “the one … the other”, “the same” (for Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós)), “each single one” in ѥдинъ къжьдо, “only, alone” (for Ancient Greek μόνος (mónos)) and “lonely”, and as an indefinite “a, a certain, someone” (for Ancient Greek τις (tis)); ESJS describes the narrowing from “one” to “alone”.[6][2][3] SlaVaComp records it for εἷς and μόνος in the Euchologium Sinaiticum and in a 14th-century Serbian translation of Gregory of Nyssa from Mount Athos.[7]

The Church Slavonic word passed into the modern languages: Russian единый (jedínyj) is borrowed from it, beside the native один (odín), and ѥдиньство gave Bulgarian единство (edínstvo) and Russian единство (jedínstvo).[8][2] Compounds such as ѥдинодоушьнъ and ѥдинородьнъ were taken into Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian and Russian in large numbers.[2] Giltebrandt records the New Testament phrases ѥдинъ по ѥдиномоу “one after another” and ѥдина отъ сѫботъ “the first day of the week”.[9]

Timeline

  • End of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century – ѥдинъ renders εἷς and μόνος in the Euchologium Sinaiticum.[7]
  • 14th century – the Serbian Athonite translation of Gregory of Nyssa uses it for εἷς and μόνος.[7]
  • 1882–1885 – Giltebrandt lists the New Testament uses of the word in Church Slavonic.[9]

Meanings

Numeral

  1. one; for εἷς.[6][3][1]
  2. first; for πρῶτος.[6]

Pronoun

  1. One (of two), as in “the one … the other”; for εἷς, ἕτερος.[6]
  2. The same, common; for ὁ αὐτός.[6]
  3. Single, each one, especially in ѥдинъ къжьдо.[6]
  4. only, sole, alone; for μόνος.[6][3][1]
  5. lonely, on one's own; for μόνος, κατὰ μόνας.[6][1]
  6. A, a certain one, someone; for τις.[6][1]

Word family

  • ѥдиньство
  • ѥдиначе
  • ѥдиночѧдъ
  • ѥдинодоушьнъ
  • ѥдинородьнъ
  • ѥдиносѫщьнъ
  • ѥдиномꙑсльнъ
  • оуѥдинити
  • приѥдинити
  • ѥдинонадесѧтъ
  • триѥдинъ
  • етеръ
  • инъ
  • ѥда
  • ѥдъва

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 276
  3. ^ a b c d e 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 Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 138
  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, 122
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 SlaVaComp Metaglossar Griechisch–Kirchenslavisch, Universität Freiburg, slavistik-portal.de
  8. ^ Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 2, 9
  9. ^ a b Gil'tebrandt, P. A. (1882–1885), Spravočnyj i ob''jasnitel'nyj slovar' k Novomu Zavetu, 6 vols., Sankt-Peterburg