стать

стать¹ to become, to stand

Pronunciation

• [statʲ], [stat͡sʲ]^[1]

Forms

стать (statʹ) pf (imperfective станови́ться)^[1]

Etymology

The verb is inherited from Old East Slavic стати (stati), from Proto-Slavic *stati (“to stand, become”).^[1][2][3] It is common Slavic: Old Church Slavonic стати (stati), which renders Ancient Greek ἵστημι (hístēmi, “to stand”) and γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “to become”), Ukrainian стати (staty), Serbo-Croatian стати (stati), Slovene stati and Czech státi se (“to happen”).^[2] The present ⟨стану⟩ has a nasal suffix (*stanǫ).^[2][3]

It continues the Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”), which the Russian dictionaries write ⟨*stā-⟩.^[1][3][2] Its relatives include Lithuanian stoti (“to step up, stand”), Latvian stāt, Old Prussian postāt (“to become”), Latin stō (“to stand”), Ancient Greek στῆ (stê, “he stood”), Old High German stān (“to stand”) and Old Irish táu (“I am”).^[2][3] стоять and ставить are of the same root, and the imperfective partner is становиться.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Ostromir Gospel of 1056–1057 has the participle in Luke 7:38, of the sinful woman „ставъши зади при ногу его” “standing behind at his feet”.^[4] The Mstislav Gospel (before 1117) has „и ста посредѣ ихъ” “and stood in the midst of them” (John 20:19).^[4]

Semantic evolution

In Old Russian the verb meant to take up a place or position by stepping, and to stand;^[4] Modern Russian also has the senses “to stop”, “to begin” and “to become”.^[3][5] In the 11th–17th centuries the verb was стати, стану; the modern infinitive стать is recorded in dictionaries from 1782.^[3] As an auxiliary with an imperfective infinitive it means “to begin” and in the future often only marks the future: не стану читать “I won't read”.^[5][1]

Timeline

• 1056–1057 – ставъши “standing” in the Ostromir Gospel.^[4]
• before 1117 – ста посредѣ ихъ “stood in the midst of them” in the Mstislav Gospel.^[4]
• 1782 – the infinitive стать in a dictionary.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To stand up, get to one's feet; to take an upright position: стать в очередь “to join a queue”.^[5][6]
2. To stop moving: часы стали “the clock has stopped”; of a river, to freeze over.^[5]
3. To step onto a place and stand there: стань сюда “stand here”.^[5][6]
4. To take up a position, to be placed: стать лагерем “to camp”.^[5][6]
5. With a noun: to start some activity: стать за прилавок “to start work behind a counter”.^[5][6]
6. With an imperfective infinitive: to begin; in the future, simply marks the future.^[5][1]
7. To become, turn into: он стал врачом “he became a doctor”.^[5][1]
8. (colloquial) To cost: это стало мне в копеечку “that cost me a pretty penny”.^[5][1]
9. (dated) To be enough: денег станет до весны “the money will last until spring”.^[5]

Word family

• встать
• достать
• остаться
• пристать
• перестать
• отстать
• настать
• устать
• восстать
• застать

стать² build, stature

Pronunciation

• [statʲ], [stat͡sʲ]^[1]

Forms

стать (statʹ) f inan (genitive ста́ти, nominative plural ста́ти, genitive plural ста́тей)^[1]

Etymology

The noun meaning build or bearing is inherited from Proto-Slavic *statь, made from the stem of ⟨*stati⟩ with the suffix ⟨*-tь⟩.^[1][3][7] It is related to Ukrainian стать (statʹ, “sex; build”) and to the Serbian Church Slavonic form постать (postatĭ, “part; manner”).^[2][7] The same Indo-European formation is Latvian stātis (“a stand”), Avestan stāiti- (“standing”), Old Norse stóð (“a place”) and, in another grade, Ancient Greek στάσις (stásis, “standing, position”), Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌸𐍃 (staþs, “a place”), Old High German stat (“a place”) and Latin statiō (“a station”).^[2][3] Tsyganenko gives the starting sense as “a standing, the way one stands”, from which came “build, frame”.^[7] кстати and статья are of the same origin.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The 11th–17th-century texts have the related noun статие “a standing, a siege”.^[3][2] The noun стать itself is recorded in dictionaries from 1771.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Besides “bearing, figure”, the noun meant “reason, occasion, manner”, and in the dialects “chance” in Olonets and “custom, character, manner” in Arkhangelsk.^[2] Ushakov notes the dated senses “kind, type” (на ту же стать “of the same sort”) and “propriety, need”, in rhetorical questions (какая стать? “why should I?”).^[6] The phrase с какой стати? “why on earth?” keeps this sense.^[1] Today the word is used mostly of horses and other animals, in the plural стати “points”, and of a person only in a dated style.^[3][6] In Kazan province it meant a waist or a skirt.^[8]

Timeline

• 11th–17th centuries – the related статие “a standing, a siege”.^[3]
• 1771 – стать in a dictionary.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. build, physique, general shape of the body; of a person, dated.^[6][3]
2. (mostly plural) A feature of an animal's body, a point: рысистые стати “the points of a trotter”.^[6]
3. (figurative, dated) Character, nature, kind.^[6][1]
4. (dated, colloquial) Need, reason; fitting: с какой стати? “why?”.^[6][1]

Word family

• статный
• кстати
• под стать