novac

See also: Novac

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From nov (“new”) +‎ -ac. The motivation for this name is considered to have been an introduction of a new currency standard. The specific cause may have been the 1336 monetary reform by Charles I of Hungary. Court texts from early 14th century Zagreb, written in Latin, refer to novi denarii, which may have been the model for the vernacular formation. The vernacular form is first attested in 1568.^{[note 1]}^[1]^[2] It became predominant in usage in 18th century, and supplanted native pjenez / pinez / penez (from Proto-Slavic *pěnędzь).^{[note 2]} An alternative, less likely etymon is the toponym Novo Brdo ("New Hill"), a town known in middle ages for its silver mining and coin minting.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nǒʋat͡s/
Hyphenation: no‧vac

Noun

nòvac m inan (Cyrillic spelling но̀вац, diminutive nòvčić)

money
sitan novac ― small change, coins (see sitniš)

krupan novac ― large bills [of money]

prljav novac ― dirty money (money that is illegally gained)

gotov novac ― cash (see gotovina)
- 1786, Tituš Brezovački, “Sveti Aleksi”, in Milan Ratković, editor, Djela Tituša Brezovačkoga (Stari pisci hrvatski; 29)‎^[6], Zagreb: JAZU, published 1951, page 163:
  Ali za mojega gospona ne bojim se vnogo, ar k bogatem radi vračiteli idu, kajti ovi za vekše novce od njih zdravje kupuju; siromaški pako, kajti se malo pri njih zadehnuti more, malo se z betegi mučiju i brzo vgasneju...
  But I don't worry much for my master, because healers gladly visit the rich, since they can buy health from them for more money; the poor wretches, on the other hand, since they can barely catch their breath, suffer from illnesses for a short while and die quickly...
- 1860, August Šenoa, “O hrvatskom kazalištu [On Croatian Theatre]”, in Šime Vučetić, editor, August Šenoa: I. Članci i feljtoni / Pjesme / Pripovijesti (Pet stoljeća hrvatske književnosti; 39), Zagreb: Matica hrvatska / Zora, published 1964, page 50:
  kad narod za jednu sezonu od pol godine, gdje se samo svaki drugi dan igra — gospodo, hrvatski narod — 20.000 for. troši, smjet će valjda i prepokorno pitati: na što se ti novci troše i kakva je korist od njih narodu.
  when the people pay 20 000 forints for one semi-annual theatrical season – the Croatian people, my gentlemen –, where a play is performed only every other day, surely they can allowed to humbly ask: what is that money spent on, and what is the use of it to the people.
(metonymic) riches, possessions
(archaic) coin, unit of a historical currency of varying value
- 1697, Gj. Daničić, editor, Poslovice‎^[7], Zagreb, published 1871, page 5:
  Banovac je banovac, ako ne ima ni novac; a oslovac je oslovac, ako bi im'o svioni pokrovac.
  A lord is a lord, even if he hasn't got a single coin; and a donkey is a donkey, even if he had a silken blanket.
  [From a 1697 Dubrovnik manuscript, Proričja slovinska (Slavic proverbs).]
- 1759 November 20, anonymous author, Хоповски Саборски Протокол‎^[8], quoted in Тихомир Остојић, Доситеј Обрадовић у Хопову: студија из културне и књижевне историје, Нови Сад: Матица српска, published 1907, page 289:
  По совершенију божественија литургији — прочим из церкве изшедшим — кивот мали отворио, из његоже 92 новца, јаже ту обретошасја, татски взјал.
  Po soveršeniju božestvenija liturgiji — pročim iz cerkve izšedšim — kivot mali otvorio, iz njegože 92 novca, jaže tu obretošasja, tatski vzjal.
  After the end of the holy liturgy, others having left the church, he opened a small reliquary, and thievishly took 92 coins that were inside.

Declension

Declension of *novac*
	singular	plural
nominative	nòvac	nȏvci
genitive	nóvca	nȍvācā
dative	nóvcu	nȏvcima
accusative	nòvac	nȏvce
vocative	nȏvče	nȏvci
locative	nóvcu	nȏvcima
instrumental	nóvcem	nȏvcima

Derived terms

Descendants

→ Slovene: novec

Footnotes

^ Mažuranić (1914) provides a quotation from a 1493 text attesting novac; however, the original text (see Šurmin 1898 and Ivšić 2017) actually uses pinez. Mažuranić's error is likely the source for Skok's (1972) and Bezlaj's (1982) claim that the word is attested since 15th c.
^ For other historical terms for money and coins, see Mažuranić 1908–1922, under entry "pjenez".

References

^ Stjepan Ivšić, Josip Bratulić, editors (2017), “(136.) 23. VII. 1493. Krišćići”, in Acta Croatica – Hrvatski spomenici: Knjiga 1. Hrvatske glagoljične i ćirilićne isprave iz zbirke Stjepana Ivšića 1100.–1527.‎^[1], Zagreb: Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, page 318
^ Đuro Šurmin, editor (1898), “(248.) God. 1493. na 23. srpńa. U Krišćićima (Podzvizdu). Jalžabeta Farkašićeva predaje imańe Dolac Ivanu Ilijiću.”, in Monumenta historico-juridica Slavorum Meridionalium. Acta Croatica (ab anno 1100—1499) = Hrvatski spomenici. Sveska I. (od godine 1100–1499)‎^[2], Zagreb: Jugoslavenska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, page 375
^ Влајић-Поповић, Јасна (2010), “Порекло новца”, in Јужнословенски филолог‎^[3], volume LXVI, Београд: Српска академија наука и уметности, Институт за српски језик САНУ, →DOI, pages 163–185
^ Mažuranić, Vladimir (1908–1922), “novac”, in Prinosi za hrvatski pravno-povjestni rječnik‎^[4], Zagreb: Jugoslavenska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, page 757
^ Tomislav Maretić, editor (1918–1922), “nòvac”, in Rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika‎^[5] (in Serbo-Croatian), volume 8, Zagreb: JAZU, page 243
^ Skok, Petar (1972), “nȍv”, in Etimologijski rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika [Etymological Dictionary of the Croatian or Serbian Language] (in Serbo-Croatian), volumes 2 (K – poni¹), Zagreb: JAZU, page 525
^ Bezlaj, France (1982), “nóvec”, in Etimološki slovar slovenskega jezika [Etymological Dictionary of the Slovenian Language] (in Slovene), volumes 2 (K – O), Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, page 228
^ Matasović, Ranko, Dunja Brozović Rončević, Dubravka Ivšić Majić, Tijmen Pronk (2016), “nòvac”, in Matasović, Ranko, editor, Etimološki rječnik hrvatskoga jezika [Etymological dictionary of the Croatian language] (in Serbo-Croatian), volume I: A – Nj, Zagreb: Institut za hrvatski jezik i jezikoslovlje, page 722