< Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic

Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/kopriva

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
*kopriva – Urtica dioica

Etymology

By surface *koprъ (“dill”) +‎ *-ivъ +‎ *-a, probably from the original sense steaming, scalding found in the root *kopněti (“to melt (for snow), to hope”), *kypěti (“to boil up”), because of the burning feel on the human skin on touch of this plant. For similar semantic development, compare dial. Czech žeřica (“nettle”) (from Proto-Slavic *žarъ (“embers”)), German Brennessel (“nettle”) (from German brennen (“to burn”)), Dutch brandnetel from branden (“to burn”), Latin ūrtīca from ūrere (“to burn”). Unlikely from the sense aroma applied in *koprъ and attested in the related lemmas Lithuanian kvãpas (“aroma”), Lithuanian kvėpti (“to smell, to breath”), since nettle does not have any particular smell.

A secondary reason of the relation to *koprъ (“dill”) may be the use of both as a food supplement.

The form *kropiva to which some forms point is modelled after *kropiti (“to besprinkle”) conceiving the crop’s conspicuous manner of distribution.

Noun

*kopriva f

  1. stinging nettle

Alternative forms
  • *kropiva

Inflection
Declension of *kopriva (hard a-stem)
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative *kopriva *koprivě *koprivy
Accusative *koprivǫ *koprivě *koprivy
Genitive *koprivy *koprivu *koprivъ
Locative *koprivě *koprivu *koprivasъ, *koprivaxъ*
Dative *koprivě *koprivama *koprivamъ
Instrumental *koprivojǫ, *koprivǫ** *koprivama *koprivami
Vocative *koprivo *koprivě *koprivy
* -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).

Derived terms
  • *koprivьnъ (relational adjective)
  • *kopъtь (“steam, smoke”)
  • *koprina (“silk”), *koprinica (“dodder”)
  • *kopněti (“to melt, to hope”)
  • *kypěti (“to boil, to vaporize”)

Descendants

Further reading
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