Etymologically
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свой

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Pronunciation

Forms

свой (svoj)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old East Slavic свои (svoi), from Proto-Slavic *svojь.[1][2][3] All the Slavic languages have it: Ukrainian свій (svij), Belarusian свой (svoj), Old Church Slavonic свои (svoi), Bulgarian свой (svoj), Serbo-Croatian свој (svoj), Slovene svoj, Czech svůj, Slovak svoj, Polish swój, Upper Sorbian swój and Polabian süj.[2]

Shaposhnikov traces it to the Indo-European reflexive stem Proto-Indo-European *swe- (with *se-, *sewe- and *swo-) “own, of one's kin”.[3] Its cognates are Old Prussian swais, Lithuanian sãvas, Latvian savs, Ancient Greek ἑός (heós, “his own”), ἕ (hé, “himself”), Old Latin sovos and Latin suus;[2][3] Old High German swīo (“wife's brother, father-in-law”) belongs here too,[2] and Wiktionary adds, with a query, English self.[1] The same stem without the ⟨-v-⟩ is in Old Church Slavonic сѧ (sę), себя and ся.[2] Shansky takes it for a suffixed form of the base of свобода.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Ostromir Gospel of 1056–1057 has „посъла къ нему жена своя” “his wife sent unto him” (Matthew 27:19).[5] The Izbornik of 1076 has „Мужь мудръ люди своя накажетъ” “a wise man will instruct his people”.[5]

Semantic evolution

From the first records it serves every person, standing for мой, твой, его, наш, ваш and их when the owner is the subject.[5] Old Russian also used it for property (“his own sheep” in the Ostromir Gospel), for people under one's authority, and as a noun свои “one's kin, one's own people”: the treaty of 911 with the Greeks, as the Hypatian Chronicle preserves it, and the Sinai Paterikon of the 11th century.[5] A 17th-century collection of proverbs has „Свои своему по неволѣ другъ” “one's own is a friend to one's own, willy-nilly”.[5] Shaposhnikov dates the first dictionary record to 1627.[3] In card games of the Leningrad region свои were trumps (1933).[6]

Timeline

  • 1056–1057 – „жена своя” “his wife” in the Ostromir Gospel.[5]
  • 1076 – „люди своя” “his people” in the Izbornik of 1076.[5]
  • 11th century – свои “kinsmen” in the Sinai Paterikon.[5]
  • 1627 – first record in a dictionary.[3]
  • 1933 – свои “trumps” in a Leningrad-region card game.[6]

Meanings

Pronoun

  1. One's own: belonging or relating to the subject of the sentence, of any person.[7][1]
  2. Own, personal: forming someone's own property, свой дом “a house of their own”.[7]
  3. Peculiar, particular: special to one thing, having a charm of its own.[7]
  4. Proper, fitting: meant for the occasion, as in всему своё время “everything in its time”.[7]
  5. Close, one of us: related by kinship, friendship or common work;[7] свои “one's own people, family”.[7]

Word family

  • по-своему
  • свойство
  • свойственный
  • свояк
  • свояченица
  • своевольный
  • своеобразный
  • присвоить
  • усвоить
  • себя
  • ся
  • свобода
  • Old East Slavic свои (svoi)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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, 583
  3. ^ 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, 306
  4. ^ Shansky, N. M.; Ivanov, V. V.; Shanskaya, T. V. (1975), Kratkij ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka [Краткий этимологический словарь русского языка], 3rd ed., Moskva: Prosveščenie, p. s.v. свой
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. 23, 189
  6. ^ a b 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. 36, 314
  7. ^ 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. свой