цена

Forms

цена́ (cená) f inan (genitive цены́, nominative plural це́ны, genitive plural цен, relational adjective ценово́й)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old East Slavic цѣна (cěna), from Proto-Slavic *cěna (“price, value”).^[2][3][1] The word is common Slavic: Old Church Slavonic цѣна (cěna), Ukrainian ціна (cina), Bulgarian цена (cena), Serbo-Croatian цијена (cijena), Slovene céna, Czech cena and Polish cena, Old Polish ⟨cana⟩.^[2]

Its cognates are Lithuanian káina (“price, use”), Avestan kaēnā (“retribution, revenge, punishment”), Ancient Greek ποινή (poinḗ, “penance, compensation, punishment”) and Middle Irish cin (“guilt, debt”); further τίνω (tínō, “I pay, atone”) and Ancient Greek τιμή (timḗ) “estimate, honour, price”.^[2][4] Shaposhnikov reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂ (“payment for a deed”), a derivative in ⟨-n-⟩ of the root *kʷey- (“to pay, repay, avenge”), which is also the root of каяться.^[4][2][1]

The Proto-Slavic form comes from ⟨*kaina⟩: the diphthong /ai/ became /ě/, and /k/ became /c/ before it.^[5] The word first meant “retribution”, then “a fine” paid for a wrong such as theft or killing, and only then “price”.^[5][6] The Czech etymological dictionary of OCS finds a trace of the old sense “compensation” in the Gospel use of the word.^[7] Wiktionary considers пеня “fine” a probable doublet.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Chernykh dates цѣна “value” and “payment” in Old Russian and Old Church Slavonic from the 10th–11th century.^[3] ESSJa cites it in the sense “price, value” from the treaty of Oleg of 912, as the chronicle preserves it, and in the sense “payment” from the Ostromir Gospel.^[8] In the Old Church Slavonic Gospel of Matthew 27:9 it renders Greek τιμή: „цѣнѫ цѣн҄енаего” “the price of him that was valued”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

Shaposhnikov gives the senses of the 10th–17th centuries as “pay, payment, cost”; the word is in dictionaries from 1704.^[4] The verb цѣнити “to value” is recorded from the 11th century and the adjective цѣньный from the 15th.^[3] Dal's proverbs show the market sense: торг цену строит “the market sets the price”.^[10] Modern Russian adds the figurative senses “what something costs in effort or loss” and “worth, significance”, and the prepositional ценой “at the cost of”.^[4][11]

Timeline

• 912 – цѣна “price” in the treaty of Oleg with the Greeks, as the chronicle preserves it.^[8]
• 1056–1057 – цѣна “payment” in the Ostromir Gospel.^[8]
• 11th century – the verb цѣнити “to value”.^[3]
• 15th century – the adjective цѣньный.^[3]
• 1704 – first recorded in a dictionary.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The price of goods, their value expressed in money: цены на бензин растут “petrol prices are rising”.^[11][12]
2. Payment for goods or services, a fee: цена за урок “the fee for a lesson”.^[11]
3. (figurative, bookish) What something costs in effort or loss, its cost: любой ценой “at any cost”.^[11][13]
4. (figurative) worth, significance.^[13][11][1]

Word family

• ценить
• ценный
• ценность
• оценить
• оценка
• бесценный
• ценовой

Related words

• оценивать
• каяться
• пеня
• Old East Slavic цѣна (cěna)

Usage notes

The stress moves: цена́, accusative це́ну, plural це́ны, цен.^[11][1] Ценой (ценою) with the genitive works as a preposition, “by means of, at the price of”.^[4] The pre-1918 spelling is цѣна.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 4, 298
3. ^ a b c d e 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. цена
4. ^ a b c d e f Shaposhnikov, A. K. (2010), Ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Flinta / Nauka, p. 2, 508
5. ^ a b 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. цена
6. ^ Preobrazhensky, A. G. (1910–1914), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь русского языка], 2 vols. (A–T; vol. 3, T–Ja, 1949), Moskva: Lissner & Sovko, p. 3, 43
7. ^ Havlová, Eva; Erhart, Adolf; Janyšková, Ilona (eds.) (1989–2022), Etymologický slovník jazyka staroslověnského, 21 fascicles, Praha: Academia / Brno: Tribun EU, p. 93
8. ^ a b c Trubačev, Oleg N.; Žuravlev, Anatolij F.; Varbot, Žanna Ž. (eds.) (1974–2021), Ètimologičeskij slovar' slavjanskix jazykov: praslavjanskij leksičeskij fond, vols. 1–42, Moskva: Nauka, p. 3, 182
9. ^ Kurz, Josef; Hauptová, Zoe (eds.) (1958–1997), Slovník jazyka staroslověnského / Lexicon linguae palaeoslovenicae, 4 vols. + supplements, Praha: Academia; digital ed. gorazd.org
10. ^ 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. цена
11. ^ 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. цена
12. ^ 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. цена
13. ^ a b 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. цена