Where does “средний” come from?
средний (Russian) comes from Old Church Slavonic срѣдьнъ, from Proto-Slavic serdьnъ, from Proto-Slavic serda, from Proto-Balto-Slavic śerd-, from Proto-Indo-European ḱerd- — heart.
Ancestry of “средний”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Church Slavonic | срѣдьнъ | — |
| 2 | Proto-Slavic | serdьnъ | middle, central |
| 3 | Proto-Slavic | serda | middle; Wednesday |
| 4 | Proto-Balto-Slavic | śerd- | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱerd- | heart |
Words derived from “средний”