Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/kosa

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 1

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *kaˀsā́ˀ, from Proto-Indo-European *kes- (“to comb, scratch”). Cognate with Lithuanian kasa (“braid”) and akin to Old Prussian kexti (“braided hair”).

Noun

*kosà f

1. hair
2. braided hair

Declension

Declension of *kosà (hard a-stem, accent paradigm c)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*kosà	*kȍsě	*kȍsy
genitive	*kosý	*kosù	*kòsъ
dative	*kosě̀	*kosàma	*kosàmъ
accusative	*kȍsǫ	*kȍsě	*kȍsy
instrumental	*kosojǫ́	*kosàma	*kosàmi
locative	*kȍsě	*kosù	*kosàsъ, *kosàxъ*
vocative	*koso	*kȍsě	*kȍsy

^* -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.

Related terms

• *česati (“to scratch (one's hair), to comb”)
  • *česadlo (“comb, scratcher”)
  • *česalъka (“tool for scratching”)
  • *česanъ (“combed”)
• *kosmъ (“lock of hair”)
• *kozina (“fur”)
• *kosъ (“haired”) (as part of compound adjectives)
  • *rusokosъ (“blond-haired”)
  • *tьmьnokosъ (“dark-haired”)
  • *bělokosъ (“white-haired, grizzled”)
  • *čęstokosъ (“with thick hair”)
  • *kosovatъ (“with bulky hair”)

Derived terms

• *kosopadъ (“hair loss”)
• *kosopasъ (“disease/infection affecting the scalp, favus”)
• *kosapъ (“knob, lump on one's scalp (result of infection or deformation)”)
• *kosatъ (“hairy, shaggy”)
• *kosakъ (“strand, tuft”)
• *kosorь

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: коса (kosa)
    • Belarusian: каса́ (kasá)
    • Russian: коса́ (kosá)
      • → Kildin Sami: коассь (kåss’)
    • Ukrainian: коса́ (kosá)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic: коса (kosa)
  • Bulgarian: коса́ (kosá)
  • Macedonian: коса (kosa)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: ко̀са

    Latin script: kòsa

• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: kosa
  • Old Polish: kosa
    • Polish: kosa (dialectal)
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: kósy pl
    • Upper Sorbian: kosa

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “коса”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1984), “*kosa I”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 11 (*konьcь – *kotьna(ja)), Moscow: Nauka, page 131
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1979), “коса¹”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 2 (и – крепя̀), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, page 653

Etymology 2

Either etymologically identical with *kosa (“hair”) or from Proto-Indo-European *ḱos-, o-grade of *ḱes- (“to cut”), via depalatalization *ḱ → *k. Possibly related to Latin cassus (“hollow, lacking”), Latin castrō (“to castrate”), Sanskrit शस्त्र (śastra, “sword, dagger”).

Noun

*kosà f

1. scythe

Declension

Declension of *kosà (hard a-stem, accent paradigm b)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*kosà	*kòsě	*kosỳ
genitive	*kosỳ	*kosù	*kòsъ
dative	*kosě̀	*kosàma	*kosàmъ
accusative	*kosǫ̀	*kòsě	*kosỳ
instrumental	*kosòjǫ, *kòsǫ**	*kosàma	*kosàmī
locative	*kosě̀	*kosù	*kosàsъ, *kosàxъ*
vocative	*koso	*kòsě	*kosỳ

^* -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

• *xudъ (“weak, meager”)
• *sъkosenъ (“cut off, shortened, amputated”)
• *kosъ (“skew, slanted”)
  • *kosvenъ (“oblique, indirect”)

Derived terms

• *kositi (“to mow”)
  • *kositьba (“mowing”)
  • *kosařь (“mower”)
  • *kosьcь (“mower”)
• *kosica (“scalpel”) (diminutive)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: коса (kosa)
    • Belarusian: каса́ (kasá)
    • Russian: коса́ (kosá)
      • → Kildin Sami: ко̄сс (kōss)
    • Ukrainian: коса́ (kosá)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic: коса (kosa)
    • → Greek: κόσα (kósa)

    ⇒ Romanian: coasă

    → Aromanian: coasã

    → Albanian: kosë

  • Bulgarian: коса́ (kosá)
  • Macedonian: коса (kosa)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: ко̀са

    Latin script: kòsa

  • Slovene: kósa (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: kosa
    • Czech: kosa
  • Kashubian: kòsa
  • Polabian: ťösă
  • Polish: kosa
  • Slovak: kosa
  • Slovincian: kôsa
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: kósa
    • Upper Sorbian: kosa

• Non-Slavic:
  • → Proto-Finnic: *kassa
  • → Hungarian: kasza

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “коса”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1984), “*kosa II”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 11 (*konьcь – *kotьna(ja)), Moscow: Nauka, page 131
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1979), “коса²”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 2 (и – крепя̀), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, page 655