Abstract
In this talk, I trace the development of the Slavic formant -ŠČINA (Blr., Russ., Ukr. -ščina, Pol. -szczyzna, Cz., Slk. -ština etc.) into a highly productive element within esp. East Slavic but also eastern Polish toponomy.
Based on a sample of historical attestations exhibiting this formant, a plausible sequence of semantic developments is proposed: 'tribute' > 'inheritance' > 'land-based inheritance' > 'a given tract of land or settlement that was inherited' > 'a given tract of land or settlement'. The present-day distribution of such names indicates that the primary spread of -ŠČINA as a topoformant proceeded from the northern Ruthenian area.