Towards a study of adjectives bogovetan and the like

Abstract

The paper offers an analysis of Serbian adjectives bogovetan, dragovetan dugovetan, istovetan, jednovetan, samovetan, svakovetan and ciglovetan which from a synchronic point of view, have an ending in -ovetan. Such adjectives often come in syntagmata where they function as intensifiers. It is presumed that it was the adjective bogovetan that originally served as a model from which the suffix -ovetan was generalized. Three possible etymological explanations of this adjective are offered: *bogo-govetьnъ, *bogo-vĕtьnъ and *bogo-( j)etьnъ. In the realm of semantics, structures like S.-Cr. ceo bogovetni dan, Slk. cely/každy bohovity/bohovaty deň are related to general Slavic syntagmata of the type ceo božji dan, on the basis of which a PSl. combination *božьjь dьnь is reconstructed. And finally, S.-Cr. bogovetan and Slk. bohovity/bohovaty are defined as a Slovakian-Southslavic isolex(eme). .