мой

Forms

мой (moj)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old East Slavic мои (moi), from Proto-Slavic *mojь (“my”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *majas and Proto-Indo-European *móyos (“my, mine”).^[1][2] The word is common Slavic: Old Church Slavonic мои (moi) for Ancient Greek ἐμός (emós), Ukrainian мій (mij), Belarusian мой (moj), Bulgarian мой (moj), Slovene mój, Czech můj and Polish mój.^[2][3][4] Its closest cognate is Old Prussian mais (“my”), accusative maian.^[2][3][5]

The Indo-European possessive is an adjective made with a thematic vowel from the enclitic dative *moi (“to me”) (see ми), with the suffix ⟨-j-⟩ as in твой and свой.^[2][5][6] By contrast Latin meus goes back to the locative *mei, and the same base with a suffix ⟨-ino-⟩ gives Old High German mīn, modern German mein.^[2][3][7] Chernykh notes that Lithuanian manas (“my”) is a later formation from the oblique stem of the personal pronoun.^[7] Meillet held that these possessives were formed independently in each language.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Izbornik of 1076 has „Въ сьрдьци моемь съкрыхъ словеса твоя да не съгрѣшу тебѣ” “thy words have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The Lay of Igor's Campaign has „в моемъ теремѣ златовръсѣмъ” “in my golden-roofed tower”.^[9] SlRJa XVIII lists the senses “belonging to me as owner”, “part of me” (my hand, my voice) and “loving me, my beloved”, the substantive мое “what is mine”, and a colloquial genitive мово.^[10] A dialect form мойский is found in a 17th-century tale of Solomon, and Dal heard it in Siberia.^[2][11]

In the modern language моё means “what is mine” and мои “my family”; colloquially мой can mean “my husband, my sweetheart”.^[12][13][14] Russenorsk took the word as moja.^[1]

Timeline

• 1076 – въ сьрдьци моемь “in my heart” in the Izbornik of 1076.^[9]
• end of the 12th century – в моемъ теремѣ “in my tower” in the Lay of Igor's Campaign.^[9]
• 17th century – the dialect form мойский in a tale of Solomon.^[2]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. my, mine: belonging or relating to me: мой брат, моя комната.^[12][15][1]
2. Coming from me, done or felt by me: моя просьба.^[15][16]
3. Close to me by kinship, friendship or views: мои соседи.^[16][14]
4. (colloquial, as a noun) моё: what belongs to me, мои: my family, my people: мои ещё спят.^[12][13]
5. (colloquial, as a noun) My husband or sweetheart.^[14]

Word family

• по-моему

Related words

• твой
• свой
• меня
• мы
• Old East Slavic мои (moi)

References

1. ^ a b c d e 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. 2, 639
3. ^ a b c 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. 10, s.v. мой
4. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 322
5. ^ a b Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 486
6. ^ 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. мой
7. ^ a b 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. мой
8. ^ Preobrazhensky, A. G. (1910–1914), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь русского языка], 2 vols. (A–T; vol. 3, T–Ja, 1949), Moskva: Lissner & Sovko, p. 1, 582
9. ^ 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. 9, 236
10. ^ 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. мой
11. ^ Dal', V. I. (1880–1882), Tolkovyj slovar' živago velikorusskago jazyka [Толковый словарь живаго великорусскаго языка], 2nd ed., 4 vols., Sankt-Peterburg / Moskva: M. O. Vol'f, p. s.v. мой
12. ^ a b c Ozhegov, S. I.; Shvedova, N. Yu. (1997), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4th ed., Moskva: Azbukovnik, p. s.v. мой
13. ^ a b Ushakov, D. N. (ed.) (1935–1940), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4 vols., Moskva: Sovetskaja ènciklopedija / OGIZ, p. s.v. мой
14. ^ a b c Efremova, T. F. (2000), Novyj slovar' russkogo jazyka. Tolkovo-slovoobrazovatel'nyj [Новый словарь русского языка. Толково-словообразовательный], 2 vols., Moskva: Russkij jazyk, p. s.v. мой
15. ^ a b 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. мой
16. ^ a b Kuznetsov, S. A. (ed.) (1998), Bol'šoj tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Большой толковый словарь русского языка], Sankt-Peterburg: Norint, p. s.v. мой