What should be their etymologies?
There are two discussed etymologies of the Czech
expressions for "Mr." (pan) or "lord". (pán)
Oldest attested form of both of them is OCz. hpán
[hpa:n] which has following possibilities to reconstruct.
1. Cz. pan, pán < OCz. hpán
< OS *gUpan- where we might see the ablaut *gup > gUp- to *geup- (as in
"z^upan")
2. Cz. pan, pán was newly
recreated after orig. femin. paní [pan^i:] "lady", later also "Mrs." <
*pot-n-ija
Can anyone help? Thanx
Petr