Славен

See also: славен

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• Сло̀ве̄н (now chiefly Serbian, Ekavian)
• Сло̀вје̄н (now chiefly Serbian, Ijekavian)
• Сло̀вӣн (archaic, Ikavian)

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-Slavic *slověninъ, but, unlike the alternative forms, not directly inherited. The -a- vowel in the first syllable apparently derives from Russian Church Slavonic or Russian славяни́н (slavjanín), perhaps with influence from сла̏ва by folk etymology.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slǎʋeːn/
• Hyphenation: Сла‧вен

Proper noun

Сла̀ве̄н m (Latin spelling Slàvēn)

1. (now chiefly Bosnia, Croatia) Slav
2. (Serbia) a man from Slavonia
3. a male given name

Usage notes

Until the 18th century, the form of this word with -o- in the first syllable was almost universal throughout the Serbo-Croatian-speaking area (with varying reflexes of yat). The form with -a- seems to have originated in Slavonic-Serbian and spread under the influence of Pan-Slavism during the 19th century. By the 20th century, the form with -a- became the most common form in Croatia and all but disappeared from Serbia, effectively reversing the early 19th-century distribution of the two forms.

Declension

Declension of Славен

	singular	plural
nominative	Сла̀ве̄н	Славе́ни
genitive	Славе́на	Славена
dative	Славену	Славенима
accusative	Славена	Славене
vocative	Славену	Славени
locative	Славену	Славенима
instrumental	Славеном	Славенима