Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/-akъ

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.

Deverbal derivations are easily secondary, motivated by parallel formations, e.g.

• North Slavic *ědakъ (“greedy man”) ← *est < *ed-ti (“to eat”) : *ěda (“food”).

Comparison with cognates in other Indo-European languages indicates antiquity of deadjectival formations:

• Ancient Greek νέος (néos, “new, young”) → νέᾱξ (néāx), νέᾱκος (néākos, “young man”) : Slavic *novъ (“new”) → *novakъ (“novice”)
• Lithuanian naũjas (“new”) → naujõkas (“novice”)

Cognate with Proto-Celtic *-ākos (see Etymology 2).

*-akъ m

1. Deadjectival, forming nouns denoting a carrier of a property.

   *junъ (“young”) → *junakъ (“a young man”)

   *novъ (“new”) → *novakъ (“novice”)

   *lěvъ (“left”) → *lěvakъ (“left-handed man”)

   *svojь (“one's own”) → *svojakъ (“relative, cousin”)

2. Denominal, forming nouns denoting something connected in meaning to the base-word.

   *rodъ (“kin”) → *roďakъ (“relative, cousin”)

   *kory (“root”) → *koreňakъ (“native, one from the root”)

   *moře (“sea”) → *mořakъ (“sailor”)

   *ryba (“fish”) → *rybakъ (“fisher”)

3. Denominal, forming masculine counterparts of feminine nouns.

   *gǫsь (“goose”) → *gǫsakъ (“gander”)

4. Deverbal, from the root, forming agent nouns.

   *prositi (“to ask; beg”) → *prosjakъ >*prošakъ (“beggar; asker”)

• *-jakъ (causing iotation of the preceding consonant)

• Šekli, Matej (2012) “Besedotvorni pomeni samostalniških izpeljank v praslovanščini”, in Philological Studies‎^[1] (in Slovene), volume 10, number 1, Skopje, Perm, Ljubljana, Zagreb, pages 115–32
• Sławski, Franciszek, editor (1974), “*-akъ”, in Słownik prasłowiański [Proto-Slavic Dictionary] (in Polish), volume 1 (a – bьzděti), Wrocław: Ossolineum, page 89