Etymologically
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или

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Pronunciation

Forms

и́ли (íli)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old Church Slavonic или (ili), as ESRJa thinks likely,[2][1] a compound of the conjunction и (i, “and”) and the interrogative particle ли (li).[2][3] In Russian terms it is made of и and ли.[3][1] The same word is Old East Slavic или (ili) and Bulgarian или (ili), which also has the short form иль (ilʹ).[3][2]

The short form иль arose in the 14th–15th centuries, when the particle ли (li) was shortened to ль (lʹ).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The conjunction is first recorded in the Ostromir Gospel of 1056–1057, in the senses “or, either” and also “if, if then”, “really?” and “than”.[2] The Izbornik of 1076 has it as a plain disjunctive “or”: „съ любьвью служяштиихъ ти или съ льстью ласкаюштиихъ” “those who serve thee with love or flatter thee with guile”.[4]

Semantic evolution

Old Russian used или far more widely than modern Russian: Vasmer lists the senses “if, if then”, “really?”, “than” beside “or”.[3] SlRJa XI–XVII records it as a disjunctive conjunction, linking items of a list (a hut, a bathhouse or a barn in a document of 1689), and also as an explanatory “that is”: брань или война “battle, that is, war”.[4] The 18th-century dictionary has both или and иль and the paired или … или “either … or”.[5]

Modern Russian keeps the explanatory sense (“in other words”) and the use at the head of a question meaning “can it be that…?”.[6]

Timeline

  • 1056–1057 – или “or; if; than” in the Ostromir Gospel.[2]
  • 1076 – или “or” in the Izbornik of 1076.[4]
  • 14th–15th centuries – the short form иль appears.[2]
  • 1689 – или linking the items of a list in a legal document.[4]

Meanings

Conjunction

  1. or: joins words or clauses that exclude each other; it may be repeated, или … или “either … or”.[6][1]
  2. Adds the last item of a list, or a further possibility: on the table, on the shelf or in the cupboard.[6]
  3. otherwise, or else: introduces what will happen if something is not done.[6][1]
  4. That is, in other words: joins two names of the same thing.[6]

Particle

  1. (colloquial) At the start of a question: can it be that…?, really?[6]

Word family

  • иль

Usage notes

The short form иль is poetic or colloquial.[5][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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. 7, s.v. или
  3. ^ a b c d e Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 2, 127
  4. ^ a b c d 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. 6, 224
  5. ^ a b 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. или
  6. ^ a b c d e f Ozhegov, S. I.; Shvedova, N. Yu. (1997), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4th ed., Moskva: Azbukovnik, p. s.v. или
  7. ^ 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. или