<em> stragùs </em>= sl. <em>*strogъ</em>

• Main Author: Simas Karaliūnas
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: Vilnius University 2011-05-01
• Series: Baltistica
• Subjects: lietuvių; stragus; etimologija
• Online Access: http://www.baltistica.lt/index.php/baltistica/article/view/1703

<p><strong>LITH. </strong><strong><em>stragùs</em></strong><strong>=SL. </strong><strong><em>*strog</em></strong><strong><em>ъ</em></strong><strong><em> </em></strong></p><p><em>Summary</em></p><p>Lith. <em>stragùs/stregùs </em>„severe, stern, cruel, strong, vigorous, angry, obstinate...” is an old Baltic word the equivalents of which in other IE languages seem to be Common Slavic <em>*strog</em><em>ъ</em><em> </em>„severe, cruel, strong...Э (Russian, Ukrainian строгий Belorussian строгi, Polish <em>strogi, </em>Czech, Slovak <em>strohý </em>etc.) and Middle High German <em>strac (strack) </em>„tight, taut, direct”, Middle Low Ger­man <em>strak (strack) </em>„stiff, fixed, firm, raised; stubborn, headstrong” and Anglo-Saxon <em>strec </em>„stiff, numb, severe, rigorous, stern, strong”. All these words probably belong to the IE root <em>*(s)treg-</em>„harden, become hard; hard, stiff...” the immediate continuants of which are attested in the East Baltic languages, cf. Lith. <em>strė́gti „</em>harden, congeal, freeze”, Latvian <em>streģele, strēģele </em>„icicle“ etc. The change of meaning from „harden, become hard; hard, stiff...” to „severe, cruel, strong, ri­gorous, angry, obstinate...” can easily be explained (cf. Lat. <em>rigidus </em>„hard, stiff… rude, cruel, vio­lent” and Lat. <em>frīgus, -oris </em>„frost; shudder, shiver”, Gr. <em>ρ</em><em>γος </em>„frost; shudder, shiver”; Gr. στε­ρεός „hard, stiff, firm; obstinate; cruel” and Lith. <em>star-ìnti </em>„to make hard, stiff; stretch...” etc).</p><p>Inspite of the fact that Latvian <em>strieģele </em>„icicle“ has the same meaning as Latvian <em>streģele, </em><em>strēģele, </em>it probably belongs to quite a different root and may be identified with Lat. <em>frīgus, -oris </em>„frost; shudder, shiver” and Gr. <em>ρ</em><em></em><em>γος</em> „frost; shudder, shiver” (&lt;IE <em>*srīgos~).</em></p>Polish <em>srogi </em>„cruel, severe, violent...”, Middle Bulgarian <em>sragь </em>„terrible, frightful, dreadful”, Russian Church Slavonic <em>срагъ </em>„terrible, dreadful”, Old Church Slavonic <em>sraga </em>„disease“, Russian <em>сорога </em>„a gloomy, difficult man” must in all probability be distinguished from the two groups of words mentioned above and identified with Lith. <em>sir̃gti </em>„to be ill”, <em>sargìnti, sárgalioti </em>„to be ailing, to be sickly” and Latvian <em>sìrgt </em>,,to be ill”, <em>sę̀rga </em>„ilness, disease”, <em>srgalât </em>„to be ailing”.