Etymologically
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знать

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знать1 to know

Pronunciation

  • [znatʲ], [znat͡sʲ][1]

Forms

знать (znatʹ) impf (perfective узна́ть, verbal noun зна́ние)[1]

Etymology

The verb is inherited from Old East Slavic знати (znati), from Proto-Slavic *znati.[1][2][3] It is common Slavic: Old Church Slavonic знати (znati), which renders Ancient Greek γιγνώσκω (gignṓskō, “to come to know”), Ukrainian знати (znaty), Belarusian знаць (znacʹ), Bulgarian зная (znaja), Serbo-Croatian знати (znati), Slovene znati, Czech znáti and Polish znać.[2][4]

The Slavic verb goes back to the Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know, recognize”), which Chernykh and Shaposhnikov write ⟨*ǵnō-⟩.[1][3][5] Its relatives include Lithuanian žinoti (“to know”), Latvian zināt, Old Prussian ersinnat (“to come to know”), Ancient Greek ἔγνω (égnō, “he knew”), Latin nōscō (“to come to know”), Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐌽𐌽 (kann, “I know”), Old High German irknāan (“to recognize”), German kennen, Albanian njoh (“I know”) and Tocharian A knān (“to know”).[2][4] The Old Church Slavonic participle знанъ (znanŭ) and agent noun знатель (znatelĭ) have exact matches in Indo-Iranian.[2] Trubachev holds that this root is in origin the same as the root *ǵenh₁- (“to beget, be born”);[2][4] ESRJa cites Isachenko's view that a member of a clan knew his kin by the clan's sign.[4] Shansky follows him, and links the verb to жена.[6] In Slavic and other languages the verb took over part of the meaning of ведать, to have knowledge of a thing.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb is in the Izbornik of 1076: “that the devil rules neither over cattle nor over swine, this is to know from the Gospel”, то… іесть знати.[7] In the Russkaya Pravda (copy of 1280) a buyer who does not know (не знати) from whom he bought goes with witnesses to the market.[7] Chernykh dates the Old Russian verb from the 11th century, with the senses “to know”, “to acknowledge” and “to observe (a law)”, and the reflexive знатися “to be acquainted”.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

Beside “to know, have knowledge of”, Old Russian used the verb for knowing a person, acknowledging and observing a custom.[3][5] The sense “to know how, to be able” is recorded from the 15th century: „Аще быхъ знаалъ грамату” “if I had known how to read” in Epiphanius's Life of Sergius (1418, in a 15th–16th-century copy).[8]

The infinitive is also used on its own as a parenthetical word, “evidently, it seems”: знать, не судьба “evidently it was not meant to be”.[1] Set phrases include знать как свои пять пальцев “to know like the back of one's hand”[9] and знать, где раки зимуют “to be shrewd”.[10]

Timeline

  • 1076 – знати “to know” in the Izbornik of 1076.[7]
  • 1280 – не знати in the Russkaya Pravda, in the copy of 1280.[7]
  • 1418 – знаалъ грамату “knew how to read” in Epiphanius's Life of Sergius (later copy).[8]
  • 1543 – old residents who знают the land and will show the boundary, in a Vologda charter.[8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To know, to have information about someone or something: знать о планах “to know about the plans”.[11][12]
  2. To have knowledge of a subject, to have an idea of something: знать историю “to know history”.[11]
  3. To be acquainted with a person.[11][13]
  4. Usually negated: to experience, feel: не знать усталости “to know no weariness”.[11]
  5. To respect, observe: знать меру “to know where to stop”.[11][5]

Adverb

  1. (colloquial) Evidently, it seems, so.[1]

Word family

  • знание
  • знаток
  • знакомый
  • знак
  • знаменитый
  • знахарь
  • узнать
  • признать
  • сознание
  • познать

знать2 nobility

Pronunciation

  • [znatʲ], [znat͡sʲ][1]

Forms

знать (znatʹ) f inan (genitive зна́ти, uncountable)[1]

Etymology

The noun meaning nobility is an East Slavic feminine noun in ⟨-ь⟩, from Old East Slavic знати (znati, “to know”), so originally those who are known, the notable ones.[14][5] It is found in Russian and in Ukrainian знать (znatʹ).[15][4] Shaposhnikov derives it from an East Slavic noun made from the participle stem ⟨*знатъ⟩ “known”, which continues an Indo-European noun ⟨*ǵnōtis⟩ “knowledge, recognition”.[5] Vasmer and ESRJa compare Ancient Greek γνῶσις (gnôsis, “knowledge”), Old High German urknāt (“recognition”) and Latin nōtiō (“a becoming acquainted”).[15][4] Mátl explained it differently.[15][4] Its adjective is знатный.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Donskie dela of 1642, in the phrase по старой знати “for old acquaintance' sake”: a runaway came to the Pechersky monastery's town house по старой знати to ask about his uncle.[16] The 11th–17th-century texts do not have the noun in the sense “nobility”, but they have its adjective знатьныи.[5]

Semantic evolution

The sense “the upper classes, the nobility” is recorded in dictionaries from Nordstet's dictionary of 1780.[4] The older sense survives in the dialects, where знать means “acquaintance, acquaintances”: у меня там знати нет “I have no acquaintances there” (Kostroma).[17]

Timeline

  • 1642 – по старой знати “for old acquaintance' sake”, in the Donskie dela.[16]
  • 1780 – the sense “nobility” in Nordstet's dictionary.[4]
  • 1847 – the dialect sense “acquaintances” recorded in Voronezh province.[17]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (collective) The nobility, the aristocracy: the highest layer of a privileged class.[18][5][1]
  2. (regional) Acquaintances; acquaintance with someone.[17]

Word family

  • знатный
  • знамя
  • Old East Slavic знати (znati)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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. 2, 100–101
  3. ^ a b c d Chernykh, P. Ya. (1993), Istoriko-ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Историко-этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Russkij jazyk, p. 1, s.v. знать
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. 6, s.v. знать
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Shaposhnikov, A. K. (2010), Ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Flinta / Nauka, p. 1, 324
  6. ^ Shansky, N. M.; Ivanov, V. V.; Shanskaya, T. V. (1975), Kratkij ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka [Краткий этимологический словарь русского языка], 3rd ed., Moskva: Prosveščenie, p. s.v. знать
  7. ^ a b c d 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. 3, 399
  8. ^ a b c 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. 6, 49
  9. ^ Michelson, M. I. (1902–1903), Russkaja mysl' i reč'. Svoe i čužoe. Opyt russkoj frazeologii [Русская мысль и речь. Свое и чужое. Опыт русской фразеологии], 2 vols., Sankt-Peterburg, p. s.v. знать, как свои пять пальцев
  10. ^ 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. знать, где раки зимуют
  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. знать
  12. ^ 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. знать
  13. ^ Ushakov, D. N. (ed.) (1935–1940), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4 vols., Moskva: Sovetskaja ènciklopedija / OGIZ, p. s.v. знать
  14. ^ 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. знать
  15. ^ a b c Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 2, 100
  16. ^ a b 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. 6, 52
  17. ^ a b c 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. 11, 312
  18. ^ 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. знать