Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/vira

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

Probably from *virъ (“man”) +‎ *-ra. Compare Proto-West Germanic *werageld, also Belarusian ві́ра (víra, “a treat for older friends that a young man arranges upon reaching adulthood”).

Noun

*vira f^[1]^[2]

(East Slavic) blood money

Declension

Declension of *vira (hard a-stem)
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*vira	*virě	*viry
genitive	*viry	*viru	*virъ
dative	*virě	*virama	*viramъ
accusative	*virǫ	*virě	*viry
instrumental	virojǫ, virǫ^**	*virama	*virami
locative	*virě	*viru	virasъ, viraxъ^*
vocative	*viro	*virě	*viry

^* -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).

Descendants

East Slavic:
- Old East Slavic: вира (vira)
  - Belarusian: ві́ра (víra)
  - Russian: ви́ра (víra)
    - → Czech: vira (learned)
  - Ukrainian: ви́ра (výra)
- Old Novgorodian: вира (vira)

References

^ Anikin, A. E. (2013), “вира II”, in Русский этимологический словарь [Russian Etymological Dictionary] (in Russian), issue 7 (вершь – вняться), Moscow: Russian Language Institute, →ISBN, page 214
^ Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1982–2012), “вира”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka