когда
Pronunciation
Forms
когда́ (kogdá)[1]
Etymology
It is inherited from Old East Slavic когда (kogda), beside къгда (kŭgda), from Proto-Slavic *kogъda.[1][2][3] The other Slavic languages have Old Church Slavonic къгда (kŭgda), Bulgarian кога (koga), Czech kdy, Polish kiedy and gdy, Serbo-Croatian када (kada) and Slovene kdaj, and dialectal когды, када, кады and ковды.[4][1]
ESRJa takes it as a formation with the suffix *-gda (as in всегда and иногда) from the pronominal stem *kъ- of кто and где, and explains the short forms by simplification of the cluster ⟨-gd-⟩.[5] Vasmer takes the first form to be Proto-Slavic *koda, matching Lithuanian kada, Old Prussian kaden, Latvian kad, Sanskrit कदा (kadā) and Avestan kadā;[4][1] *kъda would be due to *kъde and *kъto, and the ⟨-gda⟩ to an early contraction of *vьsegda or *inogda that spread to тогда and the rest.[4][1] Other scholars have seen in it an old instrumental of the word for “year, time” with an interrogative particle, or a genitive *kogo goda “of which time”; a blend of adverbs in *-da and *-ga is the least likely view.[4][5][1] Shaposhnikov combines the two: the old form, a pronoun with an enclitic particle, was reinterpreted as the pronoun plus the genitive of год.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
The Ostromir Gospel of 1056–1057 has „Рѣши ему равви къгда сѣмо приде” “they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?” (John 6:25).[3] The Sinai Paterikon of the 11th–12th centuries also uses it as a question word.[3]
Semantic evolution
Old Russian used it as a relative adverb (12th–13th centuries) and as a temporal conjunction: a 12th-century Zlatostruy has „къгда же мужьсцѣ годѣ станетъ” “but when he comes to man's age”.[3] The indefinite sense “ever, at some time” is in texts from the 14th–15th centuries on.[3] Shaposhnikov lists the Old Russian compounds нѣкогъда, некогъда, никогъда and докогъда.[2] In popular speech it also means “sometimes” and “ever”, and когда бы is used for “if”.[6]
Timeline
- 1056–1057 – „къгда сѣмо приде” in the Ostromir Gospel.[3]
- 12th century – the temporal conjunction in the Zlatostruy.[3]
- 12th–13th centuries – the relative use in the Uspensky Sbornik.[3]
- 1681 – the indefinite sense “at some time” in a document.[3]
Meanings
Adverb
- (interrogative and relative) when, at what time.[6][1]
- (colloquial) sometimes, in contrasts: sometimes by car, sometimes on foot.[6]
- (colloquial) ever, at any time.[6]
Conjunction
- When: introduces a clause of time.[6][1]
- (colloquial) If: когда так “if so”, когда бы “if only, had”.[6]
Word family
- когда-нибудь
- когда-либо
- когда-то
- кое-когда
- никогда
- некогда
Related words
Usage notes
In colloquial speech the word is often pronounced without the ⟨г⟩, [kɐˈda].[1] Когда как means “it depends”.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Shaposhnikov, A. K. (2010), Ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Flinta / Nauka, p. 1, 406
- ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. 7, 216
- ^ a b c d Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 2, 274–275
- ^ a b 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. 8, s.v. когда
- ^ a b c d e f g Ozhegov, S. I.; Shvedova, N. Yu. (1997), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4th ed., Moskva: Azbukovnik, p. s.v. когда