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Russian has two words spelled на: the preposition “on, onto” and the interjection “here, take it”, which Vasmer and Chernykh treat as separate words.[1][2]

на1 on, onto

Pronunciation

  • [nə], [nɐ], [ˈna][3]

Forms

на (na)[3]

Etymology

The preposition is inherited from Old East Slavic на (na), from Proto-Slavic *na.[3][1] All the Slavic languages have it, as Old Church Slavonic на (na), Ukrainian на (na), Bulgarian на (na), Polish na and Czech na, though its grammar differs: Serbo-Croatian, Czech and Polish are closest to Russian, modern Bulgarian furthest.[1][2]

It is related to Lithuanian nuõ (“from, off”), Latvian no (“from, out of”), Old Prussian no, Avestan ana (“through, along”), Old High German ana (modern German an), Ancient Greek ἀνά (aná, “on, up”) and ἄνω (ánō, “upwards”).[1][2] Chernykh notes that Balto-Slavic lost the initial ⟨a-⟩ here, as in по beside ἀπό (apó).[2] Shaposhnikov starts from Indo-European ⟨*ana⟩, ⟨*anō⟩;[4] Wiktionary gives Proto-Balto-Slavic *nō and Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-.[3]

As the prefix на- it can also intensify (на́крепко, на́скоро), and the superlative prefix Old Church Slavonic наи- (nai-) is the same word with a deictic particle ⟨-i⟩.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

На is used in Old Russian and Old Church Slavonic texts from the earliest times.[2][5] SDRJa counts some 50,000 examples; the Laurentian Chronicle of 1377 says under 971 „повелѣ писцю писати всѧ рѣчи Святославлѣ на харатью” “he told the scribe to write all Sviatoslav's words on parchment”.[6]

Semantic evolution

Shaposhnikov notes на in senses of space and time, purpose, cause and measure throughout the Russian of the 11th–17th centuries.[4] The Lay of Igor's Campaign uses it 73 times, as in „Своя вѣщіа пръсты на живая струны въскладаше” “he laid his wise fingers on the living strings”.[7]

Timeline

  • 971 (in the Laurentian copy of 1377) – на харатью “on parchment”.[6]
  • end of the 12th century – на живая струны in the Lay of Igor's Campaign.[7]
  • 1262–1263 – на скалви “on the scales” in a Novgorod charter.[6]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. on (with the prepositional), onto (with the accusative): the surface on which something is or onto which it goes: на полке, на полку.[8][4][3]
  2. The place, field or time of an activity: на работе, на концерте.[8][4]
  3. The person or thing an action is aimed at: сердиться на брата “to be angry with one's brother”.[8][4]
  4. An instrument or means: играть на скрипке, ехать на автобусе.[4]
  5. (with the accusative) A period, a measure, or a purpose: на неделю “for a week”, на год старше “a year older”.[4]

Prefix

  1. на-: forms verbs of action onto something (набросить), of much or many (накупить), of slight action (напевать), and with -ся of doing something to one's fill (наесться).[9]

на2 here, take it

Pronunciation

Forms

на (na)[3] Also на́-ка, на́тко, and to several people or politely на́те.[1]

Etymology

The interjection is a separate word, found as Ukrainian на (na), Belarusian на (na), Bulgarian на (na, “look!”), Serbo-Croatian na, Slovene na, Czech na and Polish na.[1][2] Its origin is not entirely clear.[2] Vasmer and Chernykh compare Lithuanian nà and Latvian na (“well”), and also Ancient Greek νή (nḗ, “truly”) and ναί (naí, “yes, indeed”), Latin nē (“truly”) and nae (“yes”), though Chernykh notes that the meanings differ a good deal.[1][2] Chernykh thinks it probably the same Indo-European element that forms the second part of он;[2] Vasmer only notes that such a link has been tried.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Chernykh finds the particle in the dictionaries from Polikarpov's of 1704, which says that на is sometimes used for the demonstrative се: на возми for се возми “here, take”.[2] It was older than that: R. James noted natka “looke heere” in 1618–1619.[2]

Timeline

  • 1618–1619 – natka “look here” in R. James's notes.[2]
  • 1704 – на in Polikarpov's dictionary.[2]

Meanings

Interjection

  1. here you are, take it: said when handing something over, or urging someone to take it.[3][2]
  • на-
  • Old East Slavic на (na)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 3, 33
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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. на
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Shaposhnikov, A. K. (2010), Ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Flinta / Nauka, p. 1, 551
  5. ^ 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. 2, s.v. на
  6. ^ 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. s.v. на
  7. ^ a b Vinogradova, V. L. (1965–1984), Slovar'-spravočnik «Slova o polku Igoreve» [Словарь-справочник «Слова о полку Игореве»], 6 vols., Moskva / Leningrad: Nauka, p. s.v. на
  8. ^ 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. на
  9. ^ Ozhegov, S. I.; Shvedova, N. Yu. (1997), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4th ed., Moskva: Azbukovnik, p. s.v. на...