< Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic

Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/bernъ

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

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *bérˀnas, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰérh₁nos. Cognate with Lithuanian bérnas (“lad, boy”), Latvian bȩ̄̀rns (“child”) within Balto-Slavic and dialectal Ancient Greek φέρενᾱ (phérenā, “dowry”) (Aeolian) elsewhere. Further akin to Proto-Germanic *barną (“child”), Albanian barrë (“pregnancy”), Old Armenian բեռն (beṙn, “burden, duty”).

Martynov, Goląb consider *bernъ the primary word for “newborn, child” in Northern Balto-Slavic, while *dětъ (u-stem) - in the South (cf. Latin foetus (“pregnant”)).

Adjective

*bernъ

  1. (obsolete) newborn
    Synonym: *novorod'enъ
  2. (by extension) pregnant, expecting a newborn (for woman)

Declension

Derived terms

  • *berniti (“to carry a child”)
  • *bermę (“load, burden”), *bermo (“cargo”)
  • *berďь (“pregnant”)

Descendants

  • South Slavic:
    • Old Church Slavonic: Брѣна (Brěna) (female personal name)
    • Serbo-Croatian:
      Cyrillic script: бре̏на (“pregnant”)
      Latin script: brȅna (“pregnant”)

Further reading

  • Gołąb, Zbigniew (1992) “III. Stratification of vocabulary”, in The Origins Of The Slavs: A Linguist's View, Slavica, page 117: “*bernъ ~ *dětъ ‘child’, the former attested indirectly”
  • “bernas”, in Lietuvių kalbos etimologinio žodyno duomenų bazė [Lithuanian etymological dictionary database], 2007–2012
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