долг

Forms

долг (dolg) m inan (genitive до́лга, nominative plural долги́, genitive plural долго́в, relational adjective долгово́й, diminutive должо́к)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old East Slavic дългъ (dŭlgŭ), from Proto-Slavic *dъlgъ (“debt”).^[2][3][1][4] The word is common Slavic: Old Church Slavonic длъгъ (dlŭgŭ) (translating Ancient Greek χρέος (khréos) and ὀφείλημα (opheílēma)), Ukrainian довг (dovh), Belarusian доўг (doŭh), Bulgarian дълг (dǎlg), Serbo-Croatian дуг (dug), Slovene dȏlg, Czech dluh, Slovak dlh and Polish dług.^[2][5] ESRJa notes that it has no generally accepted etymology.^[5]

Its closest relatives are Gothic 𐌳𐌿𐌻𐌲𐍃 (dulgs, “debt”) and Old Irish dligid (“is entitled to”).^[2][4][3] Vasmer, Sławski and Pokorny trace the group to Proto-Indo-European *dʰlgʰ- (“debt, obligation”).^[5][3] Hirt and, among Germanists, Stender-Petersen took the Slavic word from Gothic, and Derksen calls this possible, since the Gothic noun is isolated in Germanic;^[4][1] Vasmer finds a Germanic loan very unlikely because of the Slavic accent, and a Celtic one even less likely.^[2] Shaposhnikov, conversely, thinks Gothic probably borrowed the word from Slavic.^[6]

Another view joins the word to долгий “long”: a debt would be “what one waits for long” (Preobrazhensky, Brückner) or “a prolongation” (Kiparsky).^[2][5] Vasmer doubts this because of the accent, and Sławski on grounds of meaning;^[2][5] Shaposhnikov sees an ablaut relation with *dьlgъ (“long”), and Shansky and Bobrova think the link possible.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is in the Ostromir Gospel of 1056–1057, in Matthew 18:27, where the lord forgives his servant the debt.^[8] The Izbornik of 1076 has „пѣназь длъга” “the money of a debt”.^[9] Chernykh gives the Old Russian senses as “what is borrowed, an amount owed” and “tribute”, with дължьнъ “owing” and also “obliged, sinful”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the 12th century a Novgorod birchbark letter speaks of goods seized „въ братни долгь” “for a brother's debt”,^[9] and the Russkaya Pravda has a chapter „о долзѣ” “on debt”, on a merchant who owes money to many.^[10] In a treaty of 1389 the word means a tribute.^[8] The sense “duty, obligation” is quoted from a 1452 letter in a 16th-century copy, in which a bishop pressed the grand prince „по своему святительскому долгу” “as his duty as a prelate”;^[10] the Domostroy calls daily prayer бжии долгъ “a duty to God”, and a text of 1481 calls death долгъ общедательный “the debt all must pay”.^[10] The 18th century used the word in both senses, with the proverb долг платежом красен “one good turn deserves another”.^[11]

Timeline

• 1056–1057 – дългъ “debt” in the Ostromir Gospel.^[8]
• 1076 – длъга in the Izbornik of 1076.^[9]
• 12th century – въ братни долгь in a Novgorod birchbark letter.^[9]
• 1389 – “tribute” in a treaty of Dmitry Ivanovich.^[8]
• 1452 (16th-century copy) – “duty” of a prelate.^[10]
• 1481 – долгъ общедательный “the common debt”, death.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. (singular only, bookish) duty, obligation: считать своим долгом is to consider it one's duty.^[12][13]
2. A debt, something borrowed, usually money: взять в долг “to borrow”, отдать долг “to pay back a debt”.^[12][14]

Word family

• должник
• должен
• должный
• долговой
• задолжать
• одолжить
• должность

Related words

• должать
• долженствовать
• должно
• должное
• задолженность
• одолжение
• одалживать
• одолжиться
• одалживаться
• долгий
• Old East Slavic дългъ (dŭlgŭ)
• Old Church Slavonic длъгъ (dlŭgŭ)

Usage notes

The locative is в долгу́ “in debt” but о до́лге; the plural долги́ is used only in the sense “debt”.^[12][1] Отдать последний долг is to pay one's last respects to the dead, and первым долгом means “first of all”.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 1, 524
3. ^ a b c d Chernykh, P. Ya. (1993), Istoriko-ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Историко-этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Russkij jazyk, p. 1, s.v. долг
4. ^ a b c Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 129
5. ^ a b c d e Shansky, N. M.; Zhuravlev, A. F. (eds.) (1963–2007), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь русского языка], vols. 1–10 (A–M), Moskva: Izdatel'stvo Moskovskogo universiteta, p. 5, s.v. долг
6. ^ a b Shaposhnikov, A. K. (2010), Ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Flinta / Nauka, p. 1, 236
7. ^ Shansky, N. M.; Bobrova, T. A. (2004), Škol'nyj ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka [Школьный этимологический словарь русского языка], 7th ed., Moskva: Drofa, p. s.v. долг
8. ^ a b c d Trubačev, Oleg N.; Žuravlev, Anatolij F.; Varbot, Žanna Ž. (eds.) (1974–2021), Ètimologičeskij slovar' slavjanskix jazykov: praslavjanskij leksičeskij fond, vols. 1–42, Moskva: Nauka, p. 5, 178
9. ^ a b c d Avanesov, R. I. et al. (eds.) (1988–), Slovar' drevnerusskogo jazyka (XI–XIV vv.) [Словарь древнерусского языка (XI–XIV вв.)], vols. 1–13, Moskva: Russkij jazyk / Azbukovnik, p. 3, 121
10. ^ a b c d e Barkhudarov, S. G. et al. (eds.) (1975–), Slovar' russkogo jazyka XI–XVII vv. [Словарь русского языка XI–XVII вв.], vols. 1–31, Moskva: Nauka / Azbukovnik / Lexrus, p. 4, 295
11. ^ Sorokin, Yu. S. et al. (eds.) (1984–), Slovar' russkogo jazyka XVIII veka [Словарь русского языка XVIII века], vols. 1–24, Leningrad / Sankt-Peterburg: Nauka, p. s.v. долг
12. ^ a b c d Ozhegov, S. I.; Shvedova, N. Yu. (1997), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4th ed., Moskva: Azbukovnik, p. s.v. долг
13. ^ Ushakov, D. N. (ed.) (1935–1940), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4 vols., Moskva: Sovetskaja ènciklopedija / OGIZ, p. s.v. долг
14. ^ Evgen'eva, A. P. (ed.) (1981–1984), Slovar' russkogo jazyka v četyrex tomax [Словарь русского языка в 4 тт.] (MAS), 2nd ed., Moskva: Russkij jazyk, p. s.v. долг