GEORTHONYM OF THE PROTECTION OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS: LEXICAL AND GRAMMATICAL VARIANTS

Natalia PURYAEVA,
Candidate of Philological Sciences, Senior Researcher, Department of History of the Ukrainian Language and Onomastics,
Institute of the Ukrainian Language of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine;
4 Mykhaila Hrushevskoho St., Kyiv 01001, Ukraine;
e-mail: rondelyk@ukr.net
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0986-4676

Heading: RELIGIOUS STYLE: HISTORY AND PRESENT
Language: Ukrainian

Abstract
The article examines the etymology and lexical-semantic development of the georthonym Pokróva Presvyatoy Bogoroditsy, as well as its derived onymes (iconym, ideonym, agionym) and the variants Pokróva, Pokrova, and Pokrovy. It is shown that the polysemantic nature of the original Greek lexeme – which, through translation, gave rise to the Church Slavonic and subsequently Ukrainian name of the feast – combines both the objective and abstract meanings of “covering / cloak” and “protection / intercession.” This semantic richness led to a reinterpretation of the lexeme Pokróva and changes in its grammatical forms.
In particular, the form Pokróva, created by reducing the georthonymic model [sviato] + genitive with the Church Slavonic inflection –a, underwent a reinterpretation: the masculine genitive noun Pokróva began to be perceived as a form of a feminine noun. This, in turn, led to the emergence of a new form in Russian Orthodox usage – Pokrovy. Simultaneously, the lexeme Pokrovy underwent semantic reinterpretation and came to be perceived as an epithet of the Virgin Mary – Bogoroditsa Pokrovа, by analogy with Bogoroditsa Pyrohoshcha and Bogoroditsa Oranta.
Key words: Pokrova, Pokrovy, Pokrоva Presvyatoy Bogoroditsy, georthonym, ideonym, iconym, agionym.

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LEGEND
Акафіст 1 – Akathist to the Mother of God in Honor of Her Protection. http://kyiv-pravosl.info/2013/10/14/akafist-do-materi-bozhoji-na-chest-jiji-pokrovu/ (in Ukr.).
Акафіст 2 – Akathist to the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. URL: https://stavropigia.lviv.ua/index.php?id=15&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=742&cHash=d0c04db4f8bd4f4c513dd31d0a0ea918 (in Ukr.).
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