Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/košь

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

Uncertain. Dersken and Vasmer point a similarity with Latin quālum (“hamper”) and its diminutive quasillum, however, both sources qualify it as dubious. If correct, then the Slavic term is likely a back-formation from Proto-Slavic *košelъ < Proto-Indo-European *kʷes- +‎ *-slo-.

Another alternative is from *kаt- (“to chain”) +‎ *-s- (derivative aorist marker) or (less likely) *kadʰ- (“to cover”) +‎ *-s-. Neither of these roots is well-established, though. If correct, this would make *košь and its derivatives cognates with Proto-Slavic *kotьcь, Proto-Slavic *kotьlъ and probably Proto-Slavic *kǫťa. Plausible cognates outside of Slavic include Latin casa (“hut”), Latin cassis (“helmet”), Avestan 𐬐𐬀𐬙𐬀 (kata, “chamber”), Middle Persian kwšk' (kōšk, “pavilion, kiosk”), and Proto-Germanic *hattuz (“hat”).

The meaning of the East Slavic term may have been affected by Old Turkic köç- (“migration”) → Kazakh көш (köş, “military camp”).

Noun

*kòšь m

1. basket

   Synonym: *krošňa

Inflection

Declension of *kòšь (soft o-stem, accent paradigm b)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*kòšь	*košà	*košì
genitive	*košà	*košù	*kòšь
dative	*košù	*košèma	*kòšemъ
accusative	*kòšь	*košà	*košę̇̀
instrumental	*košь̀mь, *košèmь*	*košèma	*kòši
locative	*košì	*košù	*kòšixъ
vocative	*košu	*košà	*košì

^* -ьmь in North Slavic, -emь in South Slavic.

Related terms

• *košelъ (“woven bag”)
• *košara (“cottage”)
• *košěrъ (“beehive”)
• *kotьcь (“pigsty”)
• *kotьlъ (“cauldron”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Belarusian: кош (koš)
  • Russian: кош (koš) (dialectal)
  • Ukrainian: кіш (kiš)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Cyrillic: кошь (košĭ)

    Glagolitic: ⰽⱁⱎⱐ (košĭ)

  • Bulgarian: кош (koš, “basket”)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: ко̏ш

    Latin script: kȍš

    • Chakavian (Orbanići): kȍš
  • Slovene: kȍš (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: koš
    • Czech: koš
      • Bohemian (Chod dialect): kůš
  • Polish: kosz
  • Pomeranian:
    • Kashubian: kòsz
  • Slovak: kôš
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: kóš

• Non Slavic:
  • → Hungarian: kas
  • → Romanian: coș

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1984), “*košь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 11 (*konьcь – *kotьna(ja)), Moscow: Nauka, page 195
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “кош”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1979), “кош¹”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 2 (и – крепя̀), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, page 690