4 ms·

-in is actually a a possessive suffix мамин (mamin) - mother's кошкин дом (koshkin dom) - "Cat's house" it also refers to people болгарин (bolgarin) - Bulgar

• diminish 10y ago
  And what is the etymology of Moscow, Yauza, and Oka, Volga and rivers... ?
  • iopq 10y ago
    Moscow comes from the locative на Москви (na Moskvi), while the original form is *Москы. It's using the locative because the hydronym (name of the river) is older than the name of the city. So the city comes from the name of the river. Further, Lith. mazgóti "wash, splash", Latin mergō "dive" Yauza probably from ya- and -(v)uz (vyazat' - to tie, bind, knit, uzel - knot) so maybe something like "the river that ties" There are several etymologies for Oka, it probably has a form of oko (eye) in it, maybe from a Baltic source. Volga has the same root as vlaga, vologa - "wetness"
    • lisivka 10y ago
      I 90% sure that "Volga" means "(Vol) ... (Ga) Water/River", "Oka" means "(O) ... (Ka) Water/River", "Moskva" means "(Mos) ... (Kva) Water/River" in native language of people lived there, because "Kvas" means "Water".
      • iopq 10y ago
        kvas comes from kvasit' - to make sour
• lisivka 10y ago
  Yep, you are right. -in, -yn, -ian, -an: "he"/"they". -yaki, yaky, -aky: "which is/which are". Pol - field, "farmer". Polyak - which is Pol (Western Slavs). Polyan - he is Pol (Eastern Slavs). Moreover, Arab: ar - horse, ab - (one) of. Arab - one of riders.