# Slovenian: prêmog [was Slovak: prêmog]



## Maroseika

Hi,

What is the stem of this word (premog - mine)? Is *pre *- affix or stem part?
Maybe somebody knows its etymology?
Any cognates in other Slavic languages?


----------



## kirahvi

Are you sure it's Slovak? I'm not native, so it might be some rarely used word, but I think I've only ever used _baňa_ in the meaning of mine myself and can't really remember hearing the word either.

A quick search on Google told me that _premog_ is a Slovenian word meaning coal, so if _premog_ is also a Slovak word meaning mine, that's a clear connection.


----------



## TriglavNationalPark

Let's wait for our Slovak members to respond, but from I've been able to gather, I'm not sure that *premog* is a Slovak word at all. What I do know is the word exists in _*Slovenian*_, meaning not "mine" but "coal" -- with *premogovnik* referring to a coal mine. I'm wondering what your source is; it certainly wouldn't be the first time that Slovak and Slovenian have been mixed up.

According to Marko Snoj's _Slovenski etimološki slovar_, *premog* in Slovenian once meant "dragon"; this meaning also existed in old Serbian and Croatian. The modern meaning comes from the phrase "premogova kri" -- "dragon's blood" --, which was once used to describe coal. (A very cool etymology, if you ask me!)

EDIT: I missed kirahvi's post while I was doing my research.


----------



## jazyk

The g at the end of premog is very un-Slovak and un-Czech. If there were a cognate (I don't know any), it would have an h.


----------



## Maroseika

I'm sorry for mixing up almost all I only could mix up.
Sure, it is Slovenian (I don't wonder that people sometimes are confused with Slovenčina and Slovenščina) and it is coal, not mine.
Thank you for the help, but it is still not completely clear for me. Even of premog is a dragon, what is the etymology of this word? 
Any cognates in Slovenian? Does it have anything to do with мощь (power) and превозмочь (overcome)?


----------



## TriglavNationalPark

Maroseika said:


> I'm sorry for mixing up almost all I only could mix up.
> Sure, it is Slovenian (I don't wonder that people sometimes are confused with Slovenčina and Slovenščina) and it is coal, not mine.
> Thank you for the help, but it is still not completely clear for me. Even of premog is a dragon, what is the etymology of this word?
> Any cognates in Slovenian? Does it have anything to do with мощь (power) and превозмочь (overcome)?



No need to apologize, Maroseika! We are all here to learn and to make mistakes in the process.

According to Snoj, **permogъ* (= dragon) comes from **permot'i* (= to overpower, to be stronger than, to defeat, to overcome), so it's a direct cognate with the modern Slovenian verbs *premoči* and *premagati* (= to defeat, to overpower, to overcome) and the noun *premoč* (= superiority, dominance, supremacy [of power]) -- so your hypothesis is correct.


----------



## vianie

The most similar Slovak word, and also an obsolete one, is most probably *premoc*, meaning mentioned predominance as a noun.


----------



## Maroseika

Many thanks for your kind responses.


----------



## Azori

vianie said:


> The most similar Slovak word, and also an obsolete one, is most probably *premoc*, meaning mentioned predominance as a noun.


There's also the verb *premôcť* (imp. *premáhať*), which means "to defeat", "to overcome", "to suppress" in the modern language.


----------

