ДРОБЊАЦИ: ЕТИМОЛОГИЈА
Drobnjaci – etymology of the ethnonym

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the etymology of the name of the Serbian clan Drobnjaci and their (clan) region Drobnjak, Drobnjaci, situated in one part of (Old) Herzegovina in today’s state of Montenegro. All the historical mentions of the name have been given, including the mentions from the Serbian folk poetry: Drobonjag, Drobonjak, Dobronjak, Drobnjag, Drobnjak, Dromnjak, Dromjak. These has led to the conclusion that the primary form of the name had been *Dobronjag. It had been the personal name of the chief of the Romance (and Serbianized to a certain extent, thus Serbian as well) summer pasture, himself belonging to Romance people (and Serbianized to a certain extent, thus being Serb as well), and from his name the homonymal name of the Serbian clan originated. This name has Balkan Romance etymology with Serbian preorigin of the word, following the linguistic evolution: (Old Serb. dobar/-bra/-bro “good” + nѣga “care, raising” / nѣgovati “to care, to raise” > Old Serb. name (?) or/and nickname of the chief of the Romance summer pasture or, in general, of the Romance shepherd (in the summer pasture) *Dobronѣg(ь) “a person good in raising the sheep”, in a word “good shepherd” >) Balk. Rom. *Dobronjag, (?) *Dobronjagu, *Dobronjagul > *Drobonjag, (?) *Drobonjagu, *Drobonjagul > (Old) Serb. Drobonjag and *Dobronjag > Drobonjak and Dobronjak, from where the forms Drobnjag and Drobnjak came, while Drobnjak > Dromnjak > Dromjak.

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