# All Slavic languages: на / na



## Kartof

What's the origin of this word in terms of the meaning "take it"?  Obviously it's extremely colloquial but how did this non-conjugatable, exclusively imperative verb arise?


----------



## Duya

HJP says that it's ancient and common (Balto-)Slavic:



> ✧ prasl. *na (_rus_. na, _polj_. na, nać), _lit_. na


----------



## Gnoj

I didn't know that Croats also have the "na". Do Slovenes have it?


----------



## TriglavNationalPark

Gnoj said:


> I didn't know that Croats also have the "na". Do Slovenes have it?



We do indeed:


> *ná*  -te medm. (ȃ) *1.* _izraža opozorilo na to, kar se da, daje [draws attention to what is given --TNP]:_ na knjigo; na, da boš imel za vstopnico / na nazaj svoj prstan / na, pij / pri klicanju perutnine, živine: piška, na, na; na, sivec / na, tu me imaš, pa me udari / pri udarcu: na to za tvoje jezikanje, na, na, na; na za spomin, da me boš drugič ubogal ∙ ekspr. na roko, da bom držal besedo _obljubljam, zagotavljam ti_



Source: _Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika_


----------



## Azori

Czech and Slovak also have *na* with this meaning, sometimes *nate* is used with plural.


> *na* I citosl. ob. (zprav. ve větách s 2. os. j., někdy též nate s 2. os. mn.) (~; co, *koho) _vyjadřuje vybídnutí, vybízení k přijetí něčeho n. někoho:_ na, tu máš; na, hrej si; na knihu; nate koláč; _často ve volání na zvířata:_ na čičí; puť, puť, tu máš, na


Source: _Slovník spisovného jazyka českého_


> *na**²* _cit._ vyj. 1. _i nate (pri mn.)_ ponúkanie, tu máš, tu máte, vezmi(te) si!


Source: _Krátky slovník slovenského jazyka 4_


----------



## Gnoj

> Czech and Slovak also have *na *with this meaning, sometimes* nate *is used with plural.


Seems convenient enough. In Macedonian it can also be *na ti *(singular) and *na vi* (plural).


----------



## Anicetus

Still, _nate_ means that this word is (sometimes) understood as an imperative form in Czech and Slovak. That's obviously not the case in Macedonian, nor in BCMS, where _na_ is an immutable interjection (optionally with a dative form: _na ti, na vam_).

Anyway, using _na_ is considered impolite rather than just colloquial over here (at least in urban communities). Does it have such a connotation in the other languages?


----------



## Gnoj

It does have such a connotation in Macedonian, Bulgarian and BCMS. But not if used at home or among close friends.


----------



## Arath

Anicetus said:


> Still, _nate_ means that this word is (sometimes) understood as an imperative form in Czech and Slovak. That's obviously not the case in Macedonian, nor in BCMS, where _na_ is an immutable interjection (optionally with a dative form: _na ti, na vam_).
> 
> Anyway, using _na_ is considered impolite rather than just colloquial over here (at least in urban communities). Does it have such a connotation in the other languages?



In Bulgarian it can have a direct object as well as an indirect one:

На ти книгата. - Take the book.

It can also be used as an exclamation when you are hitting somebody or attacking them in some other way.

На ти! - Take that!


----------



## Anicetus

Arath said:


> In Bulgarian it can have a direct object as well as an indirect one:
> 
> На ти книгата. - Take the book.
> 
> It can also be used as an exclamation when you are hitting somebody or attacking them in some other way.
> 
> На ти! - Take that!



The same actually applies to BCMS (_na ti knjigu_). My point was that an indirect object could be used to make it clear whether it's directed at one or more persons, while adding the imperative ending isn't possible.


----------



## TriglavNationalPark

Azori said:


> Czech and Slovak also have *na* with this meaning, sometimes *nate* is used with plural.



The plural *nate* is also used in some Slovenian dialects. My grandmother (from Bela Krajina) used it all the time.

EDIT: I just checked with my father, and his family in the Gorenjska (Upper Carniola) region used it as well.



Anicetus said:


> Anyway, using _na_ is considered impolite rather than just colloquial over here (at least in urban communities). Does it have such a connotation in the other languages?



In Slovenian, it's used almost exclusively in informal contexts -- "at home or among close friends," as Gnoj puts it. It would be considered rude if used by a waiter or a salesclerk, for instance.


----------



## Gnoj

TriglavNationalPark said:


> It would be considered rude if used by a waiter or a salesclerk, for instance.


Exactly.


----------



## DenisBiH

This seems to be the second ancient Slavic feature with very colloquial status (we had a discussion some time ago about the -ka ending). It's kinda strange, isn't it? To have been there from the start, to have survived in so many Slavic languages, and yet to have such a "low" status in them?


----------



## Sobakus

Both _нате_ and the informal status are true for Russian as well.


DenisBiH said:


> This seems to be the second ancient Slavic feature with very colloquial status (we had a discussion some time ago about the -ka ending). It's kinda strange, isn't it? To have been there from the start, to have survived in so many Slavic languages, and yet to have such a "low" status in them?


Here's a good one: we have _на-ка_ = _here, take this_ combining both


----------



## DenisBiH

Sobakus said:


> Here's a good one: we have _на-ка_ = _here, take this_ combining both





First class! 

I will try to dig through Skok's etymological dictionary of Croatian/Serbian and Matasović's historical-comparative grammar of Croatian to see if I can find something more about these two.


----------

