словоерс

Etymology

From слово-ер, the old names of the two letters съ (in the early Cyrillic азбука), which was the old spelling of this suffix.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sləvɐˈjers]

Noun

словое́рс • (slovojérs) m inan (genitive словое́рса, nominative plural словое́рсы, genitive plural словое́рсов)

1. (obsolete) "slovoyers", ironical term for the honorific Russian suffix -с (-s) (an abbreviated form of сударь (sudarʹ), or sir) that was formerly used to emphasize the speaker’s politeness or servility before a person of higher social status.

   ...це́лую жизнь не говори́л словое́рсами, вдруг упа́л и встал с словое́рсами. ― ...céluju žiznʹ ne govoríl slovojérsami, vdrug upál i vstal s slovojérsami. ― I didn’t use the word ‘sir’ all my life, but as soon as I sank into low water I began to say ‘sir.’ — Fyodor Dostoevsky, "The Brothers Karamazov"