06-01-04 16:26, Joao wrote:
> But, why not Iliaevich?
You mean "Ilyevich", I suppose ("Ilya-evich" is completely impossible).
One reason is that patronymics in <-ov>/<-ev> (the latter after a
palatal consonant) were not formed from masculine names in <-(j)a>,
where <-in> was preferred (hence <Il'jin>, <Nikitin>, etc., which still
occur as surnames). The extension of these basic patronymics with
pleonastic <-ic^> (also with a patronymic function), was originally, as
far as I know, an upper-class phenomenon, and the right to it was at one
time a special honour bestowed by the tsar on his dignitaries (hence
surnames such as <Il'jinic^> and the modern type of patronymic
exemplified by <Ivanovic^> and <Sergejevic^>). Nowadays, <-ic^> occurs
on its own in patronymics derived from names in <-a>, such as <Nikitic^>
and <Il'jic^>, and was also traditionally possible in <-slav(ov)ich>
(where <-ov-> could be dropped haplologically). Sergei can certainly
correct and supplement this brief sketch of the matter.
Piotr