где

Forms

где (gde)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old East Slavic къдѣ (kŭdě), earlier къде (kŭde), from Proto-Slavic *kъde (“where”).^[1][2][3] The word is shared by the Slavic languages: Old Church Slavonic къде (kŭde), Ukrainian де (de), Bulgarian къде (kăde), Polish gdzie and Czech kde.^[4][5] The Old Russian form гдѣ (gdě), with ⟨ѣ⟩, is found from the 13th–14th centuries;^[4] Sobolevsky explained the ⟨ѣ⟩ as taken over from the locative singular ending.^[4][1]

The Proto-Slavic adverb is made with the locative particle ⟨*-de⟩, which is also in везде and здесь, from the pronominal stem ⟨*kъ-⟩ of кто.^[5][2] Anikin connects the first part with the pronominal stem Proto-Indo-European *kʷu- and the whole, with a question mark, with *kʷu-dʰe.^[2] Its cognates include Sanskrit कुह (kúha, “where”) and Avestan kudā (“where”);^[5][2] Wiktionary adds Lithuanian kur̃ and Latin ubi.^[1]

When the weak jer was lost, ⟨кде⟩ became ⟨где⟩ by voicing; in Ukrainian and Bulgarian the cluster was further reduced to ⟨д-⟩.^[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

SDRJa's first quotation is the question of the Izbornik of 1076: „къде соуть нына ошьдъшаш дша члвча” “where are the departed souls of men now?”.^[7] The same dictionary has the spelling кдѣ in a manuscript of 1280 and где in a Prologue of 1383.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The adverb has kept its sense “in what place” throughout;^[7] Old Russian used it both as a question and as a relative word.^[7] The 18th-century dictionary has, beside the question, the phrases где взять, где найти “where can one get it?”, which imply that the thing is lacking.^[8] Dal and the 18th-century dictionary record где тебе with an infinitive as a scornful answer to a boast, the source of the modern colloquial particle of doubt or denial.^[2][9]

The dialects use it for “where to, whither” (Kursk) and have extended forms such as где-ка and где-ко in the north and in Siberia.^[2]

Timeline

• 1076 – къде “where” in the Izbornik of 1076.^[7]
• 13th–14th centuries – the spelling гдѣ appears.^[4]
• 1280 – кдѣ in the Kormchaya of 1280.^[7]
• 1383 – где in a Prologue of 1383.^[7]

Meanings

Adverb

1. where: in what place, as a question or a relative word.^[9][1]
2. (colloquial) somewhere, the same as где-нибудь.^[9]

Particle

1. (colloquial) Expresses denial or doubt: где уж, где там “not a chance!”.^[9]

Word family

• где-нибудь
• где-то
• где-либо
• кое-где
• нигде
• негде
• везде

Related words

• кто
• куда
• когда
• здесь
• Old East Slavic къде (kŭde)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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. 10, 160
3. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 259
4. ^ 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, 400
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. 4, s.v. где
6. ^ Georgiev, Vladimir I. et al. (eds.) (1971–), Bălgarski etimologičen rečnik, Sofija: Izdatelstvo na Bălgarskata akademija na naukite, p. 1, 234
7. ^ 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. 4, 346
8. ^ 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. где
9. ^ a b c d Ozhegov, S. I.; Shvedova, N. Yu. (1997), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4th ed., Moskva: Azbukovnik, p. s.v. где