царь

Forms

царь (carʹ) m anim (genitive царя́, nominative plural цари́, genitive plural царе́й, female equivalent цари́ца, relational adjective ца́рский, possessive adjective царёв, diminutive царёк)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old East Slavic цьсарь (cĭsarĭ), shortened from цѣсарь (cěsarĭ), from Proto-Slavic *cěsařь (“emperor”).^[1][2][3] Vasmer compares the shortening of other titles, as in the English word king and in Swedish kung;^[2] Tsyganenko compares сударь from государь.^[4] The full form is Old Church Slavonic цѣсарь (cěsarĭ), for Ancient Greek βασιλεύς (basileús), and survives in Serbo-Croatian cesar (“emperor”), Czech císař and Polish cesarz.^[2]

Proto-Slavic took it through Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐌹𐍃𐌰𐍂 (kaisar, “emperor”) from Latin Caesar, and the ending was later assimilated to the suffix ⟨-арь⟩.^[2] Vasmer thinks a direct loan from Latin less likely, finds Skok's source Caesarius hard to explain by meaning, and rejects a Byzantine Greek source.^[2] Wiktionary notes that the Germanic donor is hard to pin down, from Proto-Germanic *kaisaraz or Gothic.^[1] The Latin name was a cognomen of the Julian family; since Julius Caesar and Augustus it had been the title of the Roman emperors.^[3][5]

кесарь, цезарь, цесарь and кайзер go back to the same Latin name.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old Russian цьсарь named the Byzantine emperor from the 11th century.^[2] The short form царь is first recorded for the Tatar khan, in the yarlyk of Khan Mengu-Timur of 1267.^[2][6] Shaposhnikov notes that цьсарь was usually written under a titlo, црь.^[3]

Semantic evolution

From the 15th century царь is used of a ruler or sovereign in general; it also occurs from then on in documents as a nickname: „Трофимко Царь, крестьянинъ” in 1495.^[6][7] Ivan IV took it as his title in 1547.^[2] Dictionaries record царъ from 1627 and царь from 1704.^[3] Bulgarian цар was the title of the Bulgarian rulers from Simeon (917) on;^[2] Czech and Polish car are late loans from Russian.^[2] French has had tsar since the 17th century;^[6] English took czar in the 1550s, in the spelling Herberstein used, and tsar in the 1660s.^[8]

Figurative uses followed: the ruler of something (царь природы), the best of its kind (лев — царь зверей), and in compounds an outstanding specimen, as in Царь-пушка and Царь-колокол.^[9][10]

Timeline

• 11th century – цьсарь for the Byzantine emperor.^[2]
• 1267 – царь for the Tatar khan in the yarlyk of Mengu-Timur.^[2][6]
• 1495 – Царь as a peasant's nickname.^[7]
• 1547 – Ivan IV takes the title.^[2]
• 1550s – English czar.^[8]
• 1627 – царъ in a dictionary.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. tsar: an autocratic monarch, or the title of one, especially of the rulers of Russia from 1547 to 1721.^[10][11][1]
2. (figurative) One who rules or masters something: царь своей судьбы.^[10]
3. (figurative) The first or best of its kind, as the lion is царь зверей.^[10][11]
4. (in compounds with царь-)'' something outstanding among its like.^[10][9]
5. A king of antiquity or of a non-European country.^[1]

Word family

• царица
• царевич
• царевна
• царёк
• царский
• царство
• царствовать
• царить
• воцариться
• цареубийца

Related words

• кайзер
• кесарь
• цезарь
• цесаревич
• цесаревна
• цесарь
• Old East Slavic цьсарь (cĭsarĭ)

Usage notes

Idioms include без царя в голове “scatterbrained” and the proverb жалует царь, да не жалует псарь.^[1]

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 k l m Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 4, 290–291
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, 505
4. ^ Tsyganenko, G. P. (1989), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь русского языка], 2nd ed., Kiev: Radjans'ka škola, p. s.v. царь
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Chernykh, P. Ya. (1993), Istoriko-ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Историко-этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Russkij jazyk, p. 2, s.v. царь
7. ^ a b Tupikov, N. M. (1903), Slovar' drevne-russkix ličnyx sobstvennyx imen [Словарь древне-русских личных собственных имен], Sankt-Peterburg, p. 419
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ 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. царь
10. ^ a b c d e Ozhegov, S. I.; Shvedova, N. Yu. (1997), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4th ed., Moskva: Azbukovnik, p. s.v. царь
11. ^ a b Kuznetsov, S. A. (ed.) (1998), Bol'šoj tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Большой толковый словарь русского языка], Sankt-Peterburg: Norint, p. s.v. царь