везти

Forms

везти́ (veztí) impf (perfective повезти́)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old East Slavic везти (vezti), from Proto-Slavic *vezti (“to convey”), present *vezǫ.^[1][2][3] Related forms are Old Church Slavonic вести (vesti) with the present везѫ (vezǫ), Ukrainian везти (vezty), Bulgarian веза (veza), Slovene vésti, Czech vézti and Polish wieźć.^[4][2]

The Baltic languages have the same verb, Lithuanian vèžti (“to convey”), and the same root vowel appears in Latvian vęzums (“cartload”) and Old Prussian wessis (“sledge”).^[2][4] Behind them is the Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to convey, carry”),^[1][2] also in Sanskrit वहति (váhati, “conveys”), Avestan vazaiti (“conveys, rides”), Latin vehō (“I convey, I ride”), Pamphylian ϝεχέτω (wekhétō, “let him bring”) and Old High German wegan (“to move”).^[2][5][3] The o-grade noun *woǵʰo- gave Proto-Slavic *vozъ, Russian воз, and the iterative возить.^[2] Vasmer also puts весло and обоз here.^[4] Albanian vjedh (“to steal”) may belong to the same root.^[2][4]

Anikin notes that the reflexes of this verb and of *vesti (“to lead”) partly merged, because their forms and senses were close;^[2] the dialect use of the verb for leading a bride round the room shows this.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest record SDRJa gives is in the Tale of Boris and Gleb in a 12th-century manuscript: „яко же бо везяхоу стааго бориса” “as they were carrying Saint Boris”.^[6] The Laurentian Chronicle (1377) uses it under the year 1054: the body of Yaroslav was laid on a sledge, „везоша и Кыеву” “and they carried him to Kiev”.^[6] The sense in all the Old Russian records is to convey someone or something on a cart, sledge or boat.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The impersonal sense “to be lucky” (ему везёт) grew out of the transport verb.^[7] Anikin, following a history of the Russian literary language, derives it from phrases in which the verb was still personal, счастье ему везёт “luck carries him”, дама ему везёт “the queen (in cards) brings him luck”, which were used into the 19th century;^[7] Strakhov explains it instead by the mixing of вести and везти.^[7] SlRJa XVIII records наша везёт “our luck is in” as popular speech and the impersonal везёт кому.^[8]

The dialects give the verb many other senses: to blow (of the wind) and to be able to do something in Archangel, to talk in Orenburg, to sway from drunkenness and to smell in Smolensk, and везтись of mud or snow dragging at the feet.^[2][9] Russian of the 11th to 17th centuries already had привезти, довезти, перевезти, отвезти, вывезти and many other prefixed verbs.^[3]

Timeline

• 12th century – везяхоу “they were carrying” in the Tale of Boris and Gleb.^[6]
• 1229 – вѣсти “to haul” goods over the portage, in the Smolensk treaty.^[6]
• 1377 – везоша “they carried” in the Laurentian Chronicle, under 1054.^[6]
• 18th century – наша везёт “our luck is in”, and impersonal везёт кому.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To carry or pull someone or something along, on oneself or as a vehicle does: a horse carries its rider, a train carries passengers.^[10][1]
2. To transport someone or something by some means of transport: to take oil in tankers.^[10][1]
3. To take with one on a journey: to bring news, to take the children to camp.^[10]
4. (colloquial) To drag something over a surface, as a sleeve across a table.^[10]
5. (impersonal, with the dative) To be lucky: ему везёт “he is lucky”;^[10][1][3] (perfective повезти).^[10][1][3]

Word family

• повезти
• привезти
• довезти
• перевезти
• отвезти
• вывезти
• увезти
• свезти
• развезти
• провезти
• везение
• везучий
• везунчик

Related words

• воз
• перевоз
• возчик
• возок
• возница
• возить
• обоз
• вести
• Old East Slavic везти (vezti)

Usage notes

Anikin treats the sense “to be lucky” as a second headword, but derives it from the first.^[7] In older card-playing language the verb was personal: не стала дама везть “the queen stopped bringing luck”.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Anikin, A. E. (2007–2021), Russkij ètimologičeskij slovar' [Русский этимологический словарь], vols. 1–13 (A–D), Moskva: Rukopisnye pamjatniki Drevnej Rusi / Institut russkogo jazyka RAN, p. 6, 183
3. ^ a b c d e Shaposhnikov, A. K. (2010), Ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Flinta / Nauka, p. 1, 100
4. ^ a b c d Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 1, 286
5. ^ 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. везти
6. ^ a b c d e f 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. 1, 378
7. ^ a b c d e Anikin, A. E. (2007–2021), Russkij ètimologičeskij slovar' [Русский этимологический словарь], vols. 1–13 (A–D), Moskva: Rukopisnye pamjatniki Drevnej Rusi / Institut russkogo jazyka RAN, p. 6, 185
8. ^ 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. везти
9. ^ Filin, F. P.; Sorokoletov, F. P.; Myznikov, S. A. (eds.) (1965–), Slovar' russkix narodnyx govorov [Словарь русских народных говоров], vols. 1–51, Moskva / Leningrad / Sankt-Peterburg: Nauka, p. 4, 97
10. ^ a b c d e f Ozhegov, S. I.; Shvedova, N. Yu. (1997), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4th ed., Moskva: Azbukovnik, p. s.v. везти