Materials for a comparative dictionary of Slavic languages

Abstract

Since 2024, the Institute of Slavic Studies has been working on a comparative ideographic dictionary of Slavic languages. This dictionary includes the basic vocabulary of all Slavic languages ​​and some neighboring and interacting languages – Lithuanian, Greek, Romanian, Hungarian, and Albanian. This dictionary is an expanded version of Karl Bak's well-known «Dictionary of selected synonyms in the principal indo-european languages», published in 1949, which, while incomplete, reflects the state of Slavic vocabulary, lexicology, and lexicography in the mid-20^th century. The new dictionary aims to present the basic vocabulary of the Slavic languages ​​in its current state and in accordance with the state of modern lexicology, semasiology, and etymology. The project, objectives, and principles of compiling the dictionary are discussed in more detail in the article by M. N. Saenko, S. M. Tolstaya, and E. I. Yakushkina (Slavic Studies, 2025, No. 5). This publication contains a selection of preliminary materials for the dictionary, relating to various thematic headings of the ideographic systematization—natural phenomena (Star, Belemnite, Forest, River), kinship categories (Kinship, Relatives), and wildlife (Cat, Tomcat; Puppy). The authors offer semantic and typological commentary on interlingual synonyms of the Slavic languages, i.e., they analyze the types of nomination and motivational models presented in the Slavic vocabulary, and trace the directions of the semantic evolution of the corresponding words and concepts.

Received 8 July 2025

Revised 25 November 2025

Accepted 5 December 2025

For citation: Berezovich, E.L., Tolstaya, S.M., Gadzhieva, S.G., 2025. Materials for a comparative dictionary of Slavic languages. Slavic World in the Third Millennium, 20 (3–4), pp. 321‒343. https://doi.org/10.31168/2412-6446.2025.20.3-4.16