Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/zěnica

This Proto-Slavic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Slavic

The pupil is the central transparent area (showing as black).

Alternative forms

*zěnьka, *zěnъka

Etymology

Substantivized participle **zěnъ +‎ *-ica, from **zěti (“to gape”) (compare *zěvati).

Noun

*zěnica f

(anatomy) pupil

Declension

Declension of *zěnica (soft a-stem)

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*zěnica	*zěnici	*zěnicę̇
Accusative	*zěnicǫ	*zěnici	*zěnicę̇
Genitive	*zěnicę̇	*zěnicu	*zěnicь
Locative	*zěnici	*zěnicu	zěnicasъ, zěnicaxъ^*
Dative	*zěnici	*zěnicama	*zěnicamъ
Instrumental	zěnicejǫ, zěnicǫ^**	*zěnicama	*zěnicami
Vocative	*zěnice	*zěnici	*zěnicę̇

^* -asъ is the expected Balto-Slavic form but is found only in some Old Czech documents; -axъ is found everywhere else and is formed by analogy with other locative plurals in -xъ.
^** The second form occurs in languages that contract early across /j/ (e.g. Czech), while the first form occurs in languages that do not (e.g. Russian).

Related terms

*zěvati (“to yawn”) (pres. *zěvajǫ)
*zijati, *zьjati (“to open (one's mouth), gape, be wide open)”) (pres. *zějǫ)
*zinǫti (“to open (one's mouth), gape”) (pres. *zinǫ)

Descendants

East Slavic:
- Old East Slavic: зѣница (zěnica)
  - Belarusian: зяні́ца (zjaníca), зрэ́нка (zrénka)
  - Russian: зени́ца (zeníca), зе́ньки pl (zénʹki), зе́нки pl (zénki, “eyes”), зе́нко n (zénko, “glass in window”)
  - Ukrainian: зіни́ця (zinýcja), зі́нка (zínka)
South Slavic:
- Old Church Slavonic:
  Old Cyrillic: зѣница (zěnica)
  
  Glagolitic: ⰸⱑⱀⰹⱌⰰ (zěnica)
- Bulgarian: зени́ца (zeníca)
- Macedonian: зеница (zenica)
- Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic: зјѐница, зѐница
  
  Latin: zjènica, zènica
- Slovene: zeníca (tonal orthography)
West Slavic:
- Czech: zenice
- Old Polish: źrzenica
  - Polish: źrenica (influenced by *zьrěti (“to see, look at”))
- Slovak: zrenica

References

Derksen, Rick (2008) Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 542
Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “зеница”, in Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), transl. and suppl. by Oleg Trubachyov, Moscow: Progress
Chernykh, P. Ja. (1993), “зеница”, in Историко-этимологический словарь русского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), volume 1 (а – пантомима), 3rd edition, Moscow: Russian Lang., →ISBN, page 324

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