Etymologically
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дом

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Pronunciation

Forms

дом (dom) m inan (genitive до́ма, nominative plural дома́ or до́мы^*, genitive plural домо́в, relational adjective дома́шний or домово́й or домо́вый, diminutive до́мик or домо́к or дому́шка, augmentative доми́ще or доми́на, pejorative доми́шко)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old East Slavic домъ (domŭ, “house, home”), from Proto-Slavic *dȍmъ (“house”).[1][2][3] The word is common Slavic: Old Church Slavonic домъ (domŭ), Ukrainian дім (dim), Bulgarian дом (dom), Serbo-Croatian dȏm, Czech dům and Polish dom.[2]

It was a ⟨u⟩-stem noun, and Ukrainian keeps the genitive дому (dómu).[2][4] The stem continues Proto-Indo-European *domus, whose closest match is Latin domus (“house, household”); the other cognates are Avestan dam- (“house”), Ancient Greek δόμος (dómos, “building”) and, in another ablaut grade, δῶμα (dôma, “house”).[2][5][6] Wiktionary gives the Indo-European root noun as *dṓm.[1] Vasmer, Shaposhnikov and ESRJa connect it with the verb Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“to build”), seen in δέμω (démō, “I build”) and Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐌼𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (timrjan, “to build”), and in Old Norse timbr (“timber”).[2][5][6] Lithuanian nãmas (“house”) belongs rather with νέμω (némō, “I dwell, I pasture”) than with this word, according to Vasmer.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Chernykh dates домъ in Old Russian from the 11th century, in the senses “dwelling”, “household”, “family”, “lineage” and “temple”.[4] SDRJa quotes it from about 3,000 places, the earliest from 12th-century manuscripts, and the Novgorod chronicle records for 1311 that forty churches and many good houses burnt down.[7]

Semantic evolution

Besides the building, Old Russian домъ meant the household and its property: the Russkaya Pravda (12th century, in a 14th-century copy) lets a dying man “divide his house among his children”.[8] It also meant a family or lineage and a church, God's house.[9] Old Russian formed the adjectives домовьный, домовый and домашьний.[5][4]

The adverbs дома “at home” and домой “homewards” come from case forms of the noun: Tsyganenko derives дома from an old locative, and Chernykh finds домой widely used from the 17th century, in Ludolf's grammar of 1696.[10][4] The 18th century used the word for a palace and for dwellings in general.[11] Modern Russian adds the senses “institution” (дом отдыха “holiday home”) and “dynasty” (дом Романовых).[12]

Timeline

  • 11th century – домъ in Old Russian.[4]
  • 12th century – домове “houses” in a manuscript of the Tale of Boris and Gleb.[7]
  • 12th century – домъ “household, property” in the Russkaya Pravda (14th-century copy).[8]
  • 1311 – домове добрии “good houses” burnt, in the Novgorod First Chronicle.[7]
  • 1696 – the adverb домой in Ludolf's Grammatica Russica.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A house, a building to live in or for an institution.[12][1]
  2. One's home, also the family living together and their household.[12][1]
  3. (figurative) A place shared by people with common interests: “our common European home”.[12]
  4. An institution or establishment: дом отдыха “holiday home”, дом творчества “artists' retreat”.[12][1]
  5. A dynasty, a noble house.[12][1]

Word family

  • дома
  • домой
  • домашний
  • домовой
  • домовитый
  • домик
  • бездомный
  • домохозяйка
  • домосед
  • одомашнить
  • Old East Slavic домъ (domŭ)

Usage notes

The nominative plural is дома́;[1][11] до́мы is the older form, usual in the 18th century.[1][11] The old ⟨u⟩-stem genitive survives in из дому, до дому beside из дома.[12][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 1, 526–527
  3. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 113
  4. ^ a b c d e f 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. дом
  5. ^ a b c Shaposhnikov, A. K. (2010), Ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Flinta / Nauka, p. 1, 237
  6. ^ a b 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. дом
  7. ^ a b c 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, 46
  8. ^ a b 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, 306
  9. ^ Sreznevsky, I. I. (1893–1912), Materialy dlja slovarja drevne-russkago jazyka po pis'mennym pamjatnikam [Материалы для словаря древнерусского языка по письменным памятникам], 3 vols., Sankt-Peterburg: Imperatorskaja Akademija nauk, p. 1, s.v. домъ
  10. ^ Tsyganenko, G. P. (1989), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь русского языка], 2nd ed., Kiev: Radjans'ka škola, p. s.v. дом
  11. ^ a b c 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. дом
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Ozhegov, S. I.; Shvedova, N. Yu. (1997), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4th ed., Moskva: Azbukovnik, p. s.v. дом