Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/dolka

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

Alternative reconstructions

• *tlaka (presuming cognate Old Czech tlaka (“facial hair”), Polish kłak (“tuft”))
• *dlaka, *d(ь)laka (per ESSJa)

Etymology

Uncertain. Limited to South Slavic languages. Reconstructed as *dolka since Proto-Slavic *dl usually gets contracted to *l in South Slavic. If right, (per Berneker) perhaps akin to dial. Lithuanian délka f, délkas m (“fishing tool”) from délti (“to use up”).

Further origin possibly from Proto-Indo-European *delh₁- (“to split, to cleave”) + *-ka.

Noun

*dòlka f (South Slavic)

1. fur, pelt (Eastern South Slavic)

   Synonyms: *kozina, *sьrstь, *guna

2. hair (Western South Slavic)

   Synonym: *kosa

Declension

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

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*dolka	*dòlcě	*dòlky
genitive	*dòlky	*dòlku	*dòlkъ
dative	*dòlcě	*dòlkama	*dòlkamъ
accusative	*dòlkǫ	*dòlcě	*dòlky
instrumental	*dòlkojǫ, *dòlkǭ**	*dòlkama	*dòlkamī
locative	*dòlcě	*dòlku	*dòlkasъ, *dòlkaxъ*
vocative	*dòlko	*dòlcě	*dòlky

^* -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

• *dolčica (diminutive)
• *dolkavъ, *dolkatъ (“furred”)

Related terms

• *dolkъ/*dlakъ (“furred, coated”)
  • ⇒ *vьlkolakъ (“werewolf”) (perhaps)
• *dolga (“splint”) (possibly)
• *dolnь (“palm”) (possibly)

Descendants

• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: дла́ка (dláka) (dialectal)
  • Macedonian: длака (dlaka) (dialectal)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: дла̏ка

    Latin script: dlȁka

  • Slovene: dláka (tonal orthography)

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1978), “*dolka?/*d(ь)laka?”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 5 (*dělo – *dьržьlь), Moscow: Nauka, page 63
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “длака”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 399