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Webster 1913 Edition

Slav

Slav

(släv or slăv)
,
Noun.
;
pl.
Slavs
(#)
.
[A word originally meaning, intelligible, and used to contrast the people so called with foreigners who spoke languages unintelligible to the Slavs; akin to OSlav.
slovo
a word,
slava
fame, Skr.
çru
to hear. Cf.
Loud
.]
(Ethnol.)
One of a race of people occupying a large part of Eastern and Northern Europe, including the Russians, Bulgarians, Roumanians, Servo-Croats, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Wends or Sorbs, Slovaks, etc.
[Written also
Slave
, and
Sclav
.]

Definition 2024

Slav

Slav

See also: slav

English

Noun

Slav ‎(plural Slavs)

People from these countries are usually considered Slavs.
  1. A member of any of the peoples from Eastern Europe who speak the Slavic languages.
  2. (Britain, birdwatching) The Slavonian grebe.

Translations

Derived terms

Related terms

Anagrams

References

  1. ↑ John P. Maher (Chicago), "The Etymology of Common Slavic slověne 'Slavs'", (in:) Balkansko Ezikoznanie XIV, 2, p. 31–36, Sofia 1970

slav

slav

See also: Slav

Romanian

Noun

slav m ‎(plural slavi, feminine equivalent slavă)

  1. Slav

Adjective

slav m, n ‎(feminine singular slavă, masculine plural slavi, feminine and neuter plural slave)

  1. Slavic

Declension

Synonyms

Swedish

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-Slavic *slověninъ (plural form is *slověne).

Noun

slav c

  1. A person of Slavic origins, a Slav

Declension

Inflection of slav 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative slav slaven slaver slaverna
Genitive slavs slavens slavers slavernas

Noun

slav c

  1. slave; person who is considered as the property of another.

Declension

Inflection of slav 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative slav slaven slavar slavarna
Genitive slavs slavens slavars slavarnas

Etymology

From Middle English sclave, a borrowing from Medieval Latin Sclavus, from Byzantine Greek Σκλάβος ‎(Sklábos), from earlier Σκλαβῆνος ‎(Sklabênos), plural Σκλαβῆνοι ‎(Sklabênoi), from Proto-Slavic *slověnji, *slověne ‎(“those who speak meaningfully”), singular *slověninъ. Compare Old Church Slavonic словѣни, словѣнє ‎(slověni, slověne, “Thessalonian Slavs”), Old East Slavic словѣне ‎(slověne, “Slavs near Novgorod”).

Commonly thought to derive from Proto-Slavic *slovo ‎(“word”), thus meaning "those who speak meaningfully" and contrasting with *němьcь ‎(“foreigner”, literally “dumb/mute person”). However, that word is an s-stem and thus the inflectional stem of that word is *sloves-, so it cannot be the direct origin as it would lead to an expected form *slovesěni (compare Russian слове́сность ‎(slovésnostʹ)). Thus the most likely origin is the verb *sluti ‎(“to be known”).[1] Both words ultimately derive from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- ‎(“fame”).

Pronunciation

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