Where does “-ь” come from?
-ь (Russian) comes from Old East Slavic -ь, from Proto-Slavic -ь, from Proto-Indo-European -is — Forms nouns from verbs.
Ancestry of “-ь”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old East Slavic | -ь | — |
| 2 | Proto-Slavic | -ь | Forms nouns; From adjectives; From participles |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | -is | Forms nouns from verbs |