Vana kirjakeele feminiinsest ik-sufiksist murdesõnastike peeglis
The old written Estonian feminine suffix -ik and its reflection in dialect dictionaries

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the feminine function of the polysemous Estonian suffix -ik. The feminine function of this suffix is documented in numerous sources of old written Estonian and, due to its Proto-Finnic origins (diminutive suffix *-(i)kkoi̯), in studies of other Finnic languages. As a marker of feminine gender, the suffix was primarily used in ethnonyms (e.g., saksik ‘German woman’), but also appeared in broader contexts, such as hõimik ‘female relative’. These derivatives often carried a pejorative connotation, as seen in the following example from Hornung’s grammar: Saksik ein teutsch Weib / Rootsik ein Schwedisch Weib per contemptum dicuntur ‘Saksik a German woman / Rootsik a Swedish woman, said with contempt’. Although the suffix no longer functions as a feminine marker in contemporary Estonian, traces of its earlier usage persist in the word noorik (‘newly married woman’ < noor ‘young’) and in cow names (Mustik < must ‘black’). In Estonian linguistics, the feminine suffix -ik has primarily been regarded as a distinctive feature of South Estonian. However, an analysis of 12 examples from the dialect dictionaries of the Institute of the Estonian Language reveals that this suffix was used to mark feminine gender throughout the entire Estonian language area. According to our data, two of the examined words appear exclusively in nonsouthern dialects: kepsik ‘girl with loose morals’ < keps ‘leg’, kepslema ‘to prance’ and naisik ‘immoral woman, mother of an illegitimate child’ < naine ‘woman’. Derivatives found in both southern and non-southern dialects are lehmik ‘promiscuous girl’ < lehm ‘cow’; väitsik ‘little girl’; pordik ‘immoral woman’ < pordu-, a root denoting sexual immorality; noorik ‘newly married young woman’ < noor ‘young’; and kaasik ‘female wedding singer, companion of the bride’ < kaas- ‘co-’. Derivatives found exclusively in southern dialects are latsik < lats ‘child’; välgik < välk, väle ‘swift’; edvik ‘flirtatious girl’ < edeve ‘vain’; lupsik ‘disparaging term for a woman’; and hatik ‘flirtatious girl’ < hatt ‘bitch, female dog’. It is evident that the use of the suffix -ik as a feminine marker is not limited to South Estonian but spans across dialects, suggesting that the suffix was a widespread linguistic feature. Moreover, the frequent association of femininity with pejoration in the analyzed derivatives indicates that pejoration is a recurring feature of the feminine suffix -ik.

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