Where does “-ец” come from?
-ец (Russian) comes from Proto-Slavic -ьcь, from Lithuanian -ikas, from Proto-Indo-European -iḱos — -y, -ic.
Ancestry of “-ец”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Slavic | -ьcь | Forms diminutives from nouns; Forms nouns from... |
| 2 | Lithuanian | -ikas | — |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | -iḱos | -y, -ic |