Etymologically
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царь

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Pronunciation

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
  • 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