Etymologically
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око

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Pronunciation

Forms

о́ко (óko) n inan (genitive о́ка, nominative plural о́чи^*, genitive plural оче́й^*) (* о́чи is actually an old nominative dual form for neuter nouns.)[1] The plural о́чи, оче́й is an old dual;[1][2] Old Russian had the genitive очесе and the plural очеса.[1][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old East Slavic око (oko), from Proto-Slavic *oko (“eye”).[1][3][4] Proto-Slavic inflected it as an s-stem in the singular and plural, and as an i-stem in the dual.[3] The word is common Slavic: Old Church Slavonic око (oko) has the genitive очесе (očese) and the dual очи (oči), and there are Ukrainian око (oko), Bulgarian око (oko), Czech oko and Polish oko.[3]

Its cognates are Lithuanian akìs (“eye”), Latvian acs, Old Prussian ackis, Ancient Greek ὄσσε (ósse, “the two eyes”), Latin oculus (“eye”) and Tocharian A ak, Tocharian B ek; further ὄμμα (ómma, “eye”) and ὄψομαι (ópsomai, “I shall see”).[3] Shaposhnikov derives them from a root meaning “to look, see”,[2] which Wiktionary writes Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ-.[1] In everyday Russian the word was replaced by глаз.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Ostromir Gospel of 1056–1057 has „Око твое лукаво есть” “Is thine eye evil” (Matthew 20:15).[6] The Izbornik of 1076 renders Greek ὀφθαλμός: „Око лукаво завидьливо о хлѣбѣ” “an evil eye is envious over bread”.[7]

Semantic evolution

The Lay of Igor's Campaign has the dual: „ни очима съглядати” “nor see with our eyes”.[6] Shaposhnikov calls the word Russian Church Slavonic in the 11th–17th centuries, and dictionaries record it from 1704.[2] Dal heard the dual очима in Cherdyn and Solvychegodsk in 1823.[8]

In modern Russian око is dated and elevated; the plural очи is poetic, often of large expressive eyes, and survives in proverbs and set phrases.[9][10] Regional speech has очи царские for a medicinal plant used against the evil eye (Don, 1929) and в очах “openly, before one's eyes”.[11]

Timeline

  • 1056–1057 – око “eye” in the Ostromir Gospel.[6]
  • 1076 – око лукаво “an evil eye” in the Izbornik of 1076.[7]
  • end of the 12th century – очима “with the eyes” in the Lay of Igor's Campaign.[6]
  • 1565 – Око as the name of a bondman.[12]
  • 1704 – first recorded in a dictionary.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (dated, elevated or poetic) An eye.[9][13][1]
  2. (plural очи, poetic) Large, expressive eyes, usually a woman's.[10]
  • окно
  • очки
  • очевидный
  • воочию
  • Old East Slavic око (oko)

Usage notes

Set phrases include в мгновение ока “in the blink of an eye”, око за око, зуб за зуб “an eye for an eye” and видит око, да зуб неймёт “so near and yet so far”.[9] A minor homograph око is an old weight of about 1.2 kg (three pounds), from Arabic–Turkish okka; it is neuter under the influence of око “eye”.[3][14] Old Russian also had a conjunction око “that; so that; because”.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Shaposhnikov, A. K. (2010), Ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Flinta / Nauka, p. 2, 65
  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. 3, 128–129
  4. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 365
  5. ^ 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. око
  6. ^ a b c d 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. око
  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. 6, 109
  8. ^ 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. око
  9. ^ 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. око
  10. ^ a b Kuznetsov, S. A. (ed.) (1998), Bol'šoj tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Большой толковый словарь русского языка], Sankt-Peterburg: Norint, p. s.v. око
  11. ^ Filin, F. P.; Sorokoletov, F. P.; Myznikov, S. A. (eds.) (1965–), Slovar' russkix narodnyx govorov [Словарь русских народных говоров], vols. 1–51, Moskva / Leningrad / Sankt-Peterburg: Nauka, p. 23, 129
  12. ^ Tupikov, N. M. (1903), Slovar' drevne-russkix ličnyx sobstvennyx imen [Словарь древне-русских личных собственных имен], Sankt-Peterburg, p. 287
  13. ^ 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. око
  14. ^ Шипова, Е. Н. (1976), Словарь тюркизмов в русском языке, Alma-Ata: Nauka, p. s.v. око