хѣрь

First attested in c. 1360–1380. Inherited from Proto-Slavic *śěrь, from *śěrъ (from an earlier pre-palatalized form *xěr-). The most important feature of Old Novgorodian and Old Pskovian is the absence of the second palatalization of the velar *k, *g, *x in the position before *ě and *i, which were only softened to [kʲ], [ɡʲ], [xʲ].^[1] By surface analysis, *хѣре (*xěre) +‎ -ь (-ĭ).

Cognates include Old Czech šěř, Czech šer (“grey cloth, linsey-woolsey, pathetic clothes”).

It was mistakenly assumed to be borrowed from Middle Low German gêre, gere, gir (“wedge-shaped piece of cloth”).^[2]

хѣрь • (xěrĭ) f^[3]

1. grey cloth, linsey-woolsey

   Synonym: водмоле (vodmole)

   • c. 1360‒1380, Берестяная грамота № 130 [Birchbark letter no. 130]‎^[1], Novgorod:

     у вигарѧ :к҃: локото хѣри беꙁо локти у валита в кюлолакши :і҃:д҃: локти хѣри у ваиваса у ваѧкшина :і҃в҃: локти водмолу и поло третиѧ нацате локти хѣри у мѣлита в куролѣ :д҃: локти хѣри

     u vigarę 20 lokoto xěri bezo lokti u valita v kjulolakši 10d:: lokti xěri u vaivasa u vajękšina :i:v:: lokti vodmolu i polo tretiję nacʹate lokti xěri u mělita v kurolě 4 lokti xěri

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

• “хѣрь”, in “Birchbark Letters Corpus”, in Russian National Corpus, https://ruscorpora.ru, 2003–2025