ведать

Forms

ве́дать (védatʹ) impf^[1] Before 1918 it was spelled вѣдать: „Всѣм хочется вѣдать о дѣйствиях нашей армии” “everyone wants to know about what our army is doing” (18th century).^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old East Slavic вѣдати (vědati), from Proto-Slavic *vědati.^[3][4] It is the iterative of the old verb *věděti (“to know”), whose infinitive *vědti became Old East Slavic вѣсти (věsti, “to know”) (⟨dt⟩ > ⟨tt⟩ > ⟨ст⟩, as in брести and плести).^[5][6][1] The old verb is Old Church Slavonic вѣдѣти (věděti), also found in Old Russian texts, with the present вѣмь (věmĭ), вѣси (věsi), вѣстъ (věstŭ) and вѣдѣ (vědě, “I know”); the Slavic languages have Ukrainian відати (vidaty), Slovene védeti, Czech věděti and Polish wiedzieć.^[7][5] Russian ⟨е⟩ continues Old Russian ⟨ѣ⟩.^[6]

That form “I know” is an Indo-European perfect, Proto-Indo-European *wóyde, with the ending of Latin vīdī: it matches Ancient Greek οἶδα (oîda, “I know”), Avestan vaēda and Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍄 (wait, “I know”), and the Slavic verb compares with Old Prussian waidimai (“we know”).^[7][1] The perfect of *weyd- (“to see, to find”) meant “I have seen, found out”, hence “I know”, Kluge explains.^[8][1] Another vowel grade is in Old High German wizzan (“to know”), the ancestor of German wissen, and in εἰδώς (eidṓs, “knowing”), with the English word wit;^[7][1] Russian видеть has the same root with another vowel.^[7][3][5] Osten-Sacken held that the ⟨ѣ⟩ of the old verb came from the past tense.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

SDRJa's earliest quotation is from the Efremov Kormchaya of the 12th century, where the verb renders Greek ἀγνοεῖν (agnoeîn) in the negative „не вѣдати” “not to know”.^[9] A Novgorod charter of 1262–1263 has „ни вѣдаѥмъ” “nor do we know (of other charters)”, and the Russkaya Pravda of 1280 „не вѣда˫а” “not knowing”, of a man who unknowingly hides another's slave.^[9] SlRJa quotes the 12th-century Life of Athanasius: „ни единъ же … вѣдааше къдѣ есть патриархъ” “no one knew where the patriarch was”.^[10]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to rule, to be in charge of” is old: in 1280 Dmitry Alexandrovich „нача вѣдати великоѥ кнѩжениѥ” “began to rule the grand principality”, and a Moscow charter of 1353 speaks of boyars who will administer districts.^[9] The chancery language of the 15th to 17th centuries used it for having lands, people or revenues in one's charge, and for knowing a language: interpreters who „тунгуской языкъ вѣдаютъ” “know the Tungus language” (1681).^[10] It also formed the doublet знати и вѣдати “to know”, recorded in the Nikon Chronicle under 1208, and дати вѣдати “to let someone know”.^[10] The 18th-century dictionary has the emphatic не знать и не ведать “to have no idea at all”.^[2]

In modern Russian the sense “to know” is archaic and poetic, and знать has taken its place;^[11][12] MAS adds the poetic “to feel, to experience”, as in Pushkin's „Мазепа ведает любовь” “Mazepa knows love”.^[12] The sense “to manage, to be in charge of” lives on in official use, with the instrumental.^[11][13]

Timeline

• 1100s – не вѣдати “not to know” in the Efremov Kormchaya.^[9]
• 1208 – не знаемъ ни вѣдаемъ in the Nikon Chronicle, under the year 1208.^[10]
• 1262–1263 – ни вѣдаѥмъ in a Novgorod charter.^[9]
• 1280 – нача вѣдати великоѥ кнѩжениѥ “began to rule the grand principality”.^[9]
• 1353 – “to administer” districts in a Moscow charter.^[9]
• 1681 – тунгуской языкъ вѣдаютъ “know the Tungus language”.^[10]

Meanings

Verb

1. (archaic, poetic) To know, to have knowledge of something; the same as знать: он не ведал, куда идёт “he did not know where he was going”.^[11][12][1]
2. (archaic, poetic) To feel, to experience: не ведать жалости is to know no pity.^[12][14]
3. (with the instrumental) To be in charge of, to manage: ведать финансами is to run the finances.^[11][13][1]

Word family

• поведать
• проведать
• разведать
• выведать
• изведать
• отведать
• заведовать
• исповедать
• сведать
• наведаться
• ведомство
• неведение

Related words

• ведение
• ведовство
• ведун
• ведьма
• заповедь
• заповедник
• исповедь
• отповедь
• разведка
• сведение
• видеть
• весть
• Old East Slavic вѣдати (vědati)
• Old Church Slavonic вѣдѣти (věděti)

Usage notes

Set phrases include не ведает, что творит “does not know what he is doing” and знать не знаю, ведать не ведаю “I have no idea at all”.^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Sorokin, Yu. S. et al. (eds.) (1984–), Slovar' russkogo jazyka XVIII veka [Словарь русского языка XVIII века], vols. 1–24, Leningrad / Sankt-Peterburg: Nauka, p. s.v. ведать
3. ^ a b Shaposhnikov, A. K. (2010), Ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Flinta / Nauka, p. 1, 98
4. ^ Tsyganenko, G. P. (1989), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь русского языка], 2nd ed., Kiev: Radjans'ka škola, p. s.v. ведать
5. ^ a b c Shansky, N. M.; Zhuravlev, A. F. (eds.) (1963–2007), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь русского языка], vols. 1–10 (A–M), Moskva: Izdatel'stvo Moskovskogo universiteta, p. 3, s.v. ведать
6. ^ a b Shansky, N. M.; Bobrova, T. A. (2004), Škol'nyj ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka [Школьный этимологический словарь русского языка], 7th ed., Moskva: Drofa, p. s.v. ведать
7. ^ a b c d e Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 1, 283
8. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 992
9. ^ a b c d e f g Avanesov, R. I. et al. (eds.) (1988–), Slovar' drevnerusskogo jazyka (XI–XIV vv.) [Словарь древнерусского языка (XI–XIV вв.)], vols. 1–13, Moskva: Russkij jazyk / Azbukovnik, p. s.v. вѣдати
10. ^ a b c d e Barkhudarov, S. G. et al. (eds.) (1975–), Slovar' russkogo jazyka XI–XVII vv. [Словарь русского языка XI–XVII вв.], vols. 1–31, Moskva: Nauka / Azbukovnik / Lexrus, p. 2, 43
11. ^ a b c d e Ozhegov, S. I.; Shvedova, N. Yu. (1997), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4th ed., Moskva: Azbukovnik, p. s.v. ведать
12. ^ a b c d Evgen'eva, A. P. (ed.) (1981–1984), Slovar' russkogo jazyka v četyrex tomax [Словарь русского языка в 4 тт.] (MAS), 2nd ed., Moskva: Russkij jazyk, p. s.v. ведать
13. ^ a b Ushakov, D. N. (ed.) (1935–1940), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4 vols., Moskva: Sovetskaja ènciklopedija / OGIZ, p. s.v. ведать
14. ^ Efremova, T. F. (2000), Novyj slovar' russkogo jazyka. Tolkovo-slovoobrazovatel'nyj [Новый словарь русского языка. Толково-словообразовательный], 2 vols., Moskva: Russkij jazyk, p. s.v. ведать