Genetic Relationship of *cerda: Semantic Reconstruction

The article deals with the etymologically disputable Slav. *cerda. Existing hypotheses argue that it is a derivative of I.-E. *ker- 'to cut'. O.N. Trubachev considered Slav. *cerda a technical stock-raising term meaning measure of time and accounting between herdsmen and a kinship community. O.N. Toporov thought this Slavic derivative to be connected with special features of offering sacrifice. The comparative analysis of the lexical-semantic field of Slav. *cerda derivatives gives an opportunity to consider Slav. *cerda a derivative of another I.-E. root (*k'er-: *k're-). Its derivatives mostly mean nurture / growth and birth / interchange. Therefore, Slav. *cerda can be viewed as an interpretation of nature cyclicity and order (borrowed from plant-raising to stock-raising?).

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