# All Slavic languages: monster



## Awwal12

In *Russian* it would be "чудовище" /chud*o*vishche/ or, in a modern context (in action films or games, for example), "монстр" /m*o*nstr/. What about other Slavic languages?..


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## TriglavNationalPark

Slovenian: *pošast *(most common), *(ne)stvor*, *spaček*, *monstrum* (lit.), *nakazen* (arch.)


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## slavic_one

Croatian almost the same: Čudovište (wist accent on the first sylable). Could be also "nakaza".


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## slavic_one

TriglavNationalPark said:


> Slovenian: *pošast *(most common), *(ne)stvor*, *spaček*, *monstrum* (lit.), *nakazen* (arch.)



I also thought to write "monstrum", but it's monstrum, not monster, right?


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## Orlin

Bulgarian: чудовище/ chudovishte.


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## TriglavNationalPark

slavic_one said:


> I also thought to write "monstrum", but it's monstrum, not monster, right?


 
I'm afraid I don't quite understand your question. "Monstrum" is Latin (but used in several other languages), while "monster" is English. They mean the same thing (except that the Latin "monstrum" can also apparently refer to an evil omen).


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## Awwal12

> Slovenian: pošast (most common)... spaček


Could you explain their etymology, please? For me, it is totally unclear. Also I ask the same about nakazen/nakaza (the root is clear and I probably know some closest cognates - but I just cannot understand a relation to a "monster" here).


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## TriglavNationalPark

Awwal12 said:


> Could you explain their etymology, please? For me, it is totally unclear. Also I ask the same about nakazen/nakaza (the root is clear and I probably know some closest cognates - but I just cannot understand a relation to a "monster" here).


 
*Pošast:*
According to Marko Snoj's etymological dictionary, *pošast* comes from the proto-Slavic *pošьstь*, which means "something that walks around." The meaning eventually shifted to "epidemic" and from there apparently to the uniquely Slovenian meaning "monster". In Ukrainian, Belarusian and some Slovenian dialects, it apparently still refers to an epidemic or a cold.

*Spaček:*
According to Snoj, *spaček*, which exists only in Slovenian, comes from the verb *pačiti* (= to grimace, make faces), which also existed in proto-Slavic (= to fake, to make sth. worse) and is derived from the proto-Slavic word *pakъ* (= not genuine, poor).

*Nakazen/nakaza:*
According to Snoj, this comes from the verb *nakaziti* (= to distort, to deface), which is a compound of *na* and *kaziti* (= to damage, to make sth. worse). *Nakaza* has the same meaning in BCS, but refers to a communicable disease in Czech.


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## Awwal12

> According to Snoj's etymological dictionary, pošast comes from the proto-Slavic pošьstь, which means "something that walks around."


Amazing! So it's really a cognate of Russian "шастать" /sh*a*stat'/ - to roam, to hang around (colloquial, disapproving), which also exists in Ukrainian (шастати) and has some cognates in Belarusian and Polish.


> According to Snoj, spaček, which exists only in Slovenian, comes from the verb pačiti (= to grimace, make faces), which also existed in proto-Slavic (= to fake, to make sth. worse) and is derived from the proto-Slavic word pakъ (= not genuine, poor).


Very interesting. Looks like its Russian far cognate is "пакость" /p*a*kost'/ - mean trick; filth. But because of palatalization k->ch, it may be unclear till thorough examination.


> According to Snoj, this comes from the verb nakaziti (= to distort, to deface), which is a compound of na and kaziti (= to damage, to make sth. worse).


Dammit, looks like I've mixed ancient Slavic "kazati" and "kaziti" at first, which actually have totally different meaning and even origination... But one close cognate nevertheless exists in Russian: искажать/исказить (iskazh*a*t'/iskaz*i*t') - to distort. Thanks!


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## Encolpius

Monster is a little bit too broad term. I found about 10 Czech equivalents in a big dictionary. So, I am going to be more concrete and say: 

Loch Ness *monster *= lochneská *příšera* [from šerý = dim, shadowy]

*obluda *is another quite common word, both příšera and obluda are only in Czech / Slovak. Maybe the Polish przyszwa is related, too. 

In case you want to find if any other Slavic langauge uses a similar word to the Russian чудовище, then...


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## Awwal12

> Loch Ness monster = lochneská příšera [from šerý = dim, shadowy]


Thanks! Actually, I meant the word "monster" only in its literal sense (some unusual and ugly big evil creature or something like that). Would the word "příšera" do for any lengendary man-eating three-headed monster as well? And what about "monsters on the third level of the game"?


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## Encolpius

Awwal12 said:


> Thanks! Actually, I meant the word "monster" only in its literal sense (some unusual and ugly big evil creature or something like that). Would the word "příšera" do for any lengendary man-eating three-headed monster as well? And what about "monsters on the third level of the game"?



Then, let's wait for natives, since I am not a big monster expert  and haven't played computer games yet.


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## Azori

*Slovak:* príšera, obluda, netvor, monštrum


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## Awwal12

> obluda


Quite interesting. May I ask, which related words do you personally find in Slovak and how exactly are they related with it? Also, are there some serious contextual differences in use of all these words mentioned by you?


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## Adnyre

Ukrainian: чуд*о*висько, потв*о*ра, монстр.


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## Azori

Awwal12 said:


> Quite interesting. May I ask, which related words do you personally find in Slovak and how exactly are they related with it? Also, are there some serious contextual differences in use of all these words mentioned by you?


Príšera, obluda, netvor and monštrum are synonyms and all of them denote a creature with a strange and frightening appearance. Monštrum may also refer to anything huge, oversized. I actually do not see many differences between them, maybe obluda might be a little more hideous and frightful than príšera; príšera is also often used in a diminutive form - príšerka - in cartoons for example. As for netvor, I think of it as a clearly bizarre creature, a freak of nature, something with 6 eyes, 2 heads and 3 legs...

related words:

príšera: _pri_ - at, on; _šero_ - gloom, dimness; _šerý_ - dim, shadowy
obluda: _blúdiť_ - to stray, to wander; _bludisko_ - labyrinth
netvor: _ne_ - prefix - not; _tvor_ - creature, being


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## kudikamo

slavic_one said:


> Croatian almost the same: Čudovište (wist accent on the first sylable). Could be also "nakaza".



In Croatian, apart from the above mentioned: "neman", "čudo prirode".

"monster", derives from Latin: "monstro/ monstrare" as to show, , and "moneo/monere" = to warn. And in Greek "teras/teratos", (therefore, "teratology", as a science about monsters".) The word usually has ambivalent meaning: 1) sth that is frightening, but also 2) sth that causes admiration, fascination. In that sense, it's no wonder that in Croatian it is also "wonder of nature" (čudo prirode").


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## bibax

> obluda: blúdiť - to stray, to wander; bludisko - labyrinth


It's a wrong decomposition.

ob-luda is derived from the verb ob-louditi (= to mystify, to charm, обмануть), not from blouditi (= to stray, to err, блуждать)

In Czech: obluda, příšera, nestvůra (from s-tvořiti = to create), monstrum are either real animals, esp. prehistorical (e.g. t-rex, giant squid) or mythological creatures (e.g. gryphons, dragons etc.). Also various E.T. creatures (like in the movie "Alien").


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## Awwal12

> netvor: ne - prefix - not; tvor - creature, being


Well, that's very similar to Slovenian "(ne)stvor" and, I suppose, doesn't need an explanation at all - since the root "tvor/tvar" seems to exist in all Slavic languages in the similar meaning (Rus. "творить" /tvor*i*t'/ - to create, тварь /tvar'/ - a creature; Ukr. "творити" /tvor*y*ty/, "(с)творіння" /(s)tvor*i*nya/ - the same; etc.). 


> In that sense, it's no wonder that in Croatian it is also "wonder of nature" (čudo prirode").


Well, in Russian that phrase sounds almost the same, but I hardly can imagine myself calling any monster this way.  Nevertheless, such a close relation between wondering and fear perfectly explains the origination of the word "чудовище" / "чудовисько" / "Čudovište" itself.


> It's a wrong decomposition.
> 
> ob-luda is derived from the verb ob-louditi (= to mystify, to charm, обмануть), not from blouditi (= to stray, to err, блуждать)


Thanks, *bibax*! I must admit that I myself supposed the origination from the root "blud", since it has many cognates in Russian (блуждать - to wander, to ramble (imp.); заблудиться - to lose one's way, to get lost (perf.); заблуждаться - to err, to be mistaken (imp.); блуд - lechery (religious); блядь   - a whore). However, the origination from "louditi" really makes sense!


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## slavic_one

kudikamo said:


> In Croatian, apart from the above mentioned: "neman", "čudo prirode".
> 
> "monster", derives from Latin: "monstro/ monstrare" as to show, , and "moneo/monere" = to warn. And in Greek "teras/teratos", (therefore, "teratology", as a science about monsters".) The word usually has ambivalent meaning: 1) sth that is frightening, but also 2) sth that causes admiration, fascination. In that sense, it's no wonder that in Croatian it is also "wonder of nature" (čudo prirode").



First association about "neman" is that it's sth huge.
"Čudo prirode" sounds like someone who is very special, but not in bad context (like "čudo od dijeteta"). And am not sure weather I heard it before.


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## kudikamo

slavic_one said:


> First association about "neman" is that it's sth huge.
> "Čudo prirode" sounds like someone who is very special, but not in bad context (like "čudo od dijeteta"). And am not sure weather I heard it before.



Pa kao i svi sinonimi, nema tocne sinonimije, vec ovisi u kontekstu gdje se koristi. A izvor kojeg citiram je: Ljiljana Saric, Wiebke Wittschen. _Rjecnik sinonima hrvtaskog jezika_. Zagreb: Jesenski i Turk, 2008, p. 68.


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