How far cognates can diverge

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How far cognates can diverge

One of the words for "brave" in Slavic languages is derived from the Old Church Slavonic храбръ ['xrabrŭ]:

• Bulgarian храбър [ˈxrabɤr]
• Serbian / Croatian храбар / hrabar
• Belarusian храбры [ˈxrabrɨ]
• Russian храбрый [ˈxrabrɨj] - a borrowing from Old Church Slavonic
• Ukrainian хоробрий [xɔˈrɔbrɪj]

All these words derive from the Proto-Slavic *xorbrъ (root xŏrb-r-) where the initial *x developed from the Proto-Indo-European *sg(ʰ). Compare Old Indian 'kharaḥ' ("hard, sharp"), Greek κάρχαρος ("saw-like, jagged"), Latvian 'skarbs' ("harsh, rough", but also "blunt" (!)), Old Norse 'skarpr' ("sharp"), Old English 'scearp' ("sharp").
In other words, the Ukrainian хоробрий [xɔˈrɔbrɪj] ("brave") and the English 'sharp' are etymological cognates.

Another interesting case is the Slavic word for 'circle':

• Old Church Slavonic крѫгъ <krǫgŭ> ['krõgŭ]
• Bulgarian кръг [krɤg]
• Serbian / Croatian круг / krug
• Russian круг [kruk]
• Polish 'krąg' [krɔŋk]
• Czech 'kruh' [krux]

All these words derive from the Proto-Indo-European *krongʰ-o- or *kreng-, from which the Proto-Germanic *hringaz (“ring, circle; curve”) developed.
So, the Russian круг [kruk] and the English 'ring' are etymological cognates.