měšъkъ

mě̑xъ; měšъkъ Grammatical information: m. o Accent paradigm: c Proto-Slavic meaning: `bag (made from skin)'

Page in Trubačev: XVIII 156-159, 220-221

Old Church Slavic:

měxъ `wine-skin' [m o]

Russian:

mex `fur, (dial.) bag' [m o], méxa [Gens], mexá [Nom p] \{1\};

mešók `bag' [m o], mešká [Gens]

Czech:

měch `bag, net' [m o];

míšek `purse, small bag' [m o], mešká [Gens]

Slovak:

mech `bag' [m o]

Polish:

miech `bag, bellows' [m o]

Slovincian:

mjìex `bag, bellows' [m o]

Upper Sorbian:

měch `bag, bellows' [m o]

Serbo-Croatian:

mȉjeh `bellows, wine-skin' [m o], mȉjeha [Gens];

Čak. mȋh (Vrgada) `bellows, wine-skin' [m o], mȋha [Gens];

Čak. mȋh (Novi) `bellows, wine-skin' [m o];

Čak. mⁱȇh (Vrgada) `bellows, bag-pipes' [m o], mⁱȇhe [Locs]

Slovene:

mẹ̑h `fur, wine-skin, bellows, leather bag' [m o/u], mẹ̑ha [Gens], mẹhȗ [Gens];

mẹ̑šǝk `small bellows' [m o]

Bulgarian:

mjax `bellows, bag made from skin' [m o];

mex `bellows, bag made from skin' [m o]

Proto-Balto-Slavic reconstruction: moiṣós

Lithuanian:

maĩšas `bag, sack' [m o] 4 \{2\}

Latvian:

màiss `bag' [m o]

Old Prussian:

moasis (EV) `bellows'

Indo-European reconstruction: moiso-

IE meaning: ram

Certainty: +

Page in Pokorny: 747

Comments: I feel that we should not attach too much importance to De Vries's observation that with respect to Germanic it is unwarranted to start from an original meaning `Tragkorb aus Fell' (1962: 382). In fact, the same would apply to the Baltic forms. I consider the semantic similarity between, for instance, Lith. maĩšas `ein aus Schnüren gestricktes Heunetz' (note that the meaning `net' is also attested in Slavic), OIc. heymeiss `hay-sack' and Eng. (dial.) maiz `large, light hay-basket' sufficient evidence for the etymological identity of the Germanic and the Balto-Slavic forms. MoIr. moais `bag, hamper', moaiseog `wicker basket' is doubtless a borrowing from Germanic.

Other cognates:

Skt. meṣá- `ram'

;

OIc. meiss `basket'

;

OHG meisa `pannier'

Notes:

\{1\} The plural noun mexí means `fur bag, wine-skin'. \{2\} Friedrich Kurschat's dictionary (1883) mentions the more specific meaning `ein aus Schnüren gestricktes Heunetz'.