Etymologically
Log in

у

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Russian word у

у1 at, by (preposition)

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1056–1057 Ostromir Gospel
Inherited from
Old East Slavic у
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *au

Pronunciation

Etymology

The preposition is inherited from Old East Slavic у (u), written ⟨оу⟩ in the oldest texts, from Proto-Slavic *u.[1][2] It is shared by the other Slavic languages: Old Church Slavonic оу (u), Ukrainian у (u), Belarusian у (u), Bulgarian у (u), Serbo-Croatian у (u), Czech u and Polish u.[2] The same element is the verbal prefix у- of убежать and убывать, and of Old Church Slavonic оумрѣти (umrěti, “to die”).[2]

Vasmer traces it to Proto-Indo-European *au, which Shaposhnikov glosses “at, from, off, down”.[2][3] Its cognates include Old Prussian aumūsnan (“washing”), Latvian aumanis (“out of one's mind”), the prefix of Latin auferō (“I carry away”) and aufugiō (“I run away”), and Old Irish ó (“from, away”).[2] Shansky and Bobrova take the original sense to be “away”, whence “from” and the idea of removal or separation.[4]

Tsyganenko holds that two Proto-Slavic words merged in the modern form: *au, the source of the prefix in убрать and увидеть, and *on, which gave Old Church Slavonic ⟨ѫ⟩ and the prefix of удобный and уток.[5] Vasmer notes that Old Russian /u/ continues both Proto-Slavic /u/ and the nasal /ǫ/, which had fallen together already in the Ostromir Gospel.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first dated record is in the Ostromir Gospel of 1056–1057, in the sense of nearness: „бывъшя рано у гроба” “which were early at the sepulchre” (Luke 24:22).[6]

Semantic evolution

The Old Russian record already has most of the modern uses: besides place (“at, beside”), SlRJa lists possession, as in „У Тебе есть источьникь живота” “with thee is the fountain of life”, the whole that something is part of, the people in whose house, service or keeping something happens, the time of an event, and removal, taking something “from” someone.[6] The Lay of Igor's Campaign uses it seven times, mostly for a place by a town or river: „у Курьска”, „у Дону Великаго” “by the great Don”.[7] Shaposhnikov notes the spelling ⟨ꙋ⟩ in the 11th–17th centuries.[3]

Timeline

  • 1056–1057 – у гроба “at the sepulchre” in the Ostromir Gospel.[6]
  • end of the 12th century – у Дону Великаго “by the great Don” in the Lay of Igor's Campaign.[7]
  • 1377 – у негоже града суть Златая врата “by which city is the Golden Gate”, of Yaroslav's Kiev under 1037, in the Laurentian Chronicle.[6]
  • 1660 – у великого государя у руки, of envoys admitted to kiss the tsar's hand.[6]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. With the genitive: at, by, near, close beside a place or object: у окна “by the window”.[8][9][1]
  2. In someone's home, presence, care or service, or among a group of people: жить у бабушки “to live at one's grandmother's”.[8][10]
  3. Marks the possessor, in the usual way of saying “to have”: у меня есть брат “I have a brother”.[1][8]
  4. Marks the owner of a body part or the object a part belongs to: у кошки болит лапа “the cat's paw hurts”.[1]
  5. Marks the person from whom something is taken, asked or learnt: спросить у соседа “to ask the neighbour”.[1][11]

у2 ooh!, ugh! (interjection)

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Onomatopoeia

Pronunciation

Etymology

The interjection has its own entry in Vasmer, who records it in Church Slavonic, Old Church Slavonic оу (u, “alas”) translating Ancient Greek οὐαί (ouaí) and, in the Codex Suprasliensis, οἴμοι (oímoi, “woe is me”), and in Bulgarian у (u), a cry of surprise and horror; he compares увы.[2] Викисловарь calls it onomatopoeic.[12] Epishkin lists the cry of indignation among the Gallicisms, beside French hou.[13]

Earliest recorded meaning

Sreznevsky's Old Russian materials record the interjection ⟨оу⟩ “alas”.[14]

Semantic evolution

Dal describes it as an interjection of fear, reproach and shame.[15] In the modern language it expresses reproach or a threat, and also fear or surprise; drawn out (у-у-у) it imitates howling or humming, of the wind for instance.[8][11][16]

Meanings

Interjection

  1. Expresses reproach or a threat: у, негодник! “ooh, you rascal!”.[8][11]
  2. Expresses fear or surprise.[11][8]
  3. (drawn out, у-у-у) Imitates a howl or a hum.[16]

Usage notes

The letter is called у;[2] Old Russian called it укъ, the word for “teaching”.[2] Wiktionary also has у as an indeclinable masculine noun for the Wu language of China.[1] Old Russian had a particle у “now, then; indeed”, which Vasmer refers to уже.[2][14][17] The preposition is unstressed, except in the rare cases where the stress passes to it from the noun, as in у́ моря.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 4, 142
  3. ^ a b Shaposhnikov, A. K. (2010), Ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Flinta / Nauka, p. 2, 439
  4. ^ 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. у
  5. ^ Tsyganenko, G. P. (1989), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь русского языка], 2nd ed., Kiev: Radjans'ka škola, p. s.v. у
  6. ^ a b c d e 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. 30, 301
  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. у
  8. ^ 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. у
  9. ^ Kuznetsov, S. A. (ed.) (1998), Bol'šoj tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Большой толковый словарь русского языка], Sankt-Peterburg: Norint, p. s.v. у
  10. ^ 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. у
  11. ^ a b c d e Ushakov, D. N. (ed.) (1935–1940), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4 vols., Moskva: Sovetskaja ènciklopedija / OGIZ, p. s.v. у
  12. ^ Викисловарь (Russian Wiktionary), https://ru.wiktionary.org
  13. ^ Epishkin, N. I. (2010), Istoričeskij slovar' gallicizmov russkogo jazyka [Исторический словарь галлицизмов русского языка], Moskva: ÈTS, p. s.v. у!
  14. ^ a b 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. 3, s.v. у
  15. ^ 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. у
  16. ^ 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. у
  17. ^ 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. 30, 307

Related etymologies

  • вода · also from Old East Slavic
  • быть · also from Old East Slavic
  • с · also from Old East Slavic
  • на · also from Old East Slavic
  • в · also from Old East Slavic
  • и · also from Old East Slavic
  • что · also from Old East Slavic
  • не · also from Old East Slavic
Cite this entry

“У.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/ru/%D1%83. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·