*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of heave

From Middle English heven, hebben, from Old English hebban, from Proto-West Germanic *habbjan, from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to take up, lift”), from Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti, from the root *kap-. See also have. Cog

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
verb

To lift with difficulty; to raise with some effort; to lift (a heavy thing). · To throw, cast. · To rise and fall. · To utter with effort.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English heven, hebben, from Old English hebban, from Proto-West Germanic *habbjan, from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to take up, lift”), from Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti, from the root *kap-. See also have. Cognates Cognate with West Frisian heffe, Dutch heffen ("to raise", "to lift"), German heben ("to raise", "to lift"), Danish hæve ("to raise", "to lift"), Albanian kap (“to grasp, seize”), Old Irish cáin (“law, tribute”), cacht (“prisoner”), Latin capiō (“to take”), Latvian kàmpt (“to seize”), Ancient Greek κάπτω (káptō, “to gulp down”), κώπη (kṓpē, “handle”)). (To lift, to raise): Compare typologically Russian поднима́ть (podnimátʹ), подня́ть (podnjátʹ) (akin to има́ть (imátʹ), име́ть (imétʹ) < Proto-Slavic *jьmati, *jьměti).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 9 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:heven<id:lift>",
        "id": "lift"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"lang_name\" : \"substrate\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"children\" : [ ], \"lang\" : \"qfa-sub\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*kap-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"intransitive verbs\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-yéti\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*kapyéti\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*habjaną\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*habbjan\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"hebban\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"heven\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"heave\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"lift\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"heave\" id=\"English:_lift\">"
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    },
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      },
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    },
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
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    },
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      "name": "inh",
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        "1": "en",
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        "4": "",
        "5": "to take up, lift"
      },
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    },
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    },
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    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "heffe"
      },
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    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "heffen"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch heffen"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "heben"
      },
      "expansion": "German heben"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "hæve"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish hæve"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "kap",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to grasp, seize"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian kap (“to grasp, seize”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sga",
        "2": "cáin",
        "3": "",
        "4": "law, tribute"
      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "capiō",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to take"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin capiō (“to take”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lv",
        "2": "kàmpt",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to seize"
      },
      "expansion": "Latvian kàmpt (“to seize”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "κάπτω",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to gulp down"
      },
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    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "To lift, to raise"
      },
      "expansion": "(To lift, to raise):"
    },
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      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "ru",
        "2": "поднима́ть"
      },
      "expansion": "Russian поднима́ть (podnimátʹ)"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
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        "1": "sla-pro",
        "2": "*jьmati"
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    },
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  ],
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      "heven",
      "heven#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "hebben",
      "hebben#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "hebban",
      "hebban#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*habbjan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/habbjan"
    ],
    [
      "*habjaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/habjaną"
    ],
    [
      "*kapyéti",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/kapyéti"
    ],
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      "*kap-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/kap-#Proto-Indo-European:_seize"
    ],
    [
      "have",
      "have#English"
    ],
    [
      "heffe",
      "heffe#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "heffen",
      "heffen#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "heben",
      "heben#German"
    ],
    [
      "hæve",
      "hæve#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "kap",
      "kap#Albanian"
    ],
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      "cáin",
      "cáin#Old_Irish"
    ],
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      "cacht",
      "cacht#Old_Irish"
    ],
    [
      "capiō",
      "capio#Latin"
    ],
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      "kàmpt",
      "kampt#Latvian"
    ],
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      "κάπτω",
      "κάπτω#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "κώπη",
      "κώπη#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "поднима́ть",
      "поднимать#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "подня́ть",
      "поднять#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "има́ть",
      "имать#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "име́ть",
      "иметь#Russian"
    ],
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      "*jьmati",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/jьmati"
    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/jьměti"
    ]
  ],
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      "lang": "Danish",
      "lang_code": "da",
      "word": "hive",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Faroese",
      "lang_code": "fo",
      "word": "hiva",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "lang_code": "nn",
      "word": "hiva",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "lang_code": "nn",
      "word": "hive",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed",
        "e and split infinitives"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "lang_code": "nb",
      "word": "hive",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
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      "lang": "Scanian",
      "lang_code": "gmq-scy",
      "word": "hyva",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
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          "lang": "Hallandian",
          "lang_code": "gmq-scy",
          "word": "hiva"
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      ]
    },
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      "lang_code": "sv",
      "word": "hiva",
      "raw_tags": [
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      ],
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          "lang": "Sudermannian",
          "lang_code": "sv",
          "word": "hyva"
        }
      ]
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  ],
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      "pos": "verb",
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        "To lift with difficulty; to raise with some effort; to lift (a heavy thing).",
        "To throw, cast.",
        "To rise and fall.",
        "To utter with effort."
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Unnumbered source etymology · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
noun

An effort to raise something, such as a weight or one's own body, or to move something heavy. · An upward motion; a rising; a swell or distention, as of the breast in difficult breathing, of the waves, of the earth in an earthquake, etc. · A horizontal dislocation in a metallic lode, taking place at an intersection with another lode. · The measure of extent to which a nautical vessel goes up and down in a short period of time.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English heven, hebben, from Old English hebban, from Proto-West Germanic *habbjan, from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to take up, lift”), from Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti, from the root *kap-. See also have. Cognates Cognate with West Frisian heffe, Dutch heffen ("to raise", "to lift"), German heben ("to raise", "to lift"), Danish hæve ("to raise", "to lift"), Albanian kap (“to grasp, seize”), Old Irish cáin (“law, tribute”), cacht (“prisoner”), Latin capiō (“to take”), Latvian kàmpt (“to seize”), Ancient Greek κάπτω (káptō, “to gulp down”), κώπη (kṓpē, “handle”)). (To lift, to raise): Compare typologically Russian поднима́ть (podnimátʹ), подня́ть (podnjátʹ) (akin to има́ть (imátʹ), име́ть (imétʹ) < Proto-Slavic *jьmati, *jьměti).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 3 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:heven<id:lift>",
        "id": "lift"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"lang_name\" : \"substrate\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"children\" : [ ], \"lang\" : \"qfa-sub\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*kap-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"intransitive verbs\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-yéti\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*kapyéti\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*habjaną\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*habbjan\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"hebban\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"heven\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"heave\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"lift\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"heave\" id=\"English:_lift\">"
    },
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      "name": "inh",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
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      },
      "expansion": "Middle English heven"
    },
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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hebban"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hebban"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
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      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *habbjan"
    },
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      "name": "inh",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
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        "4": "",
        "5": "to take up, lift"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to take up, lift”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
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      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "heffe"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian heffe"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "heffen"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch heffen"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "heben"
      },
      "expansion": "German heben"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "hæve"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish hæve"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "kap",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to grasp, seize"
      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sga",
        "2": "cáin",
        "3": "",
        "4": "law, tribute"
      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "capiō",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to take"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin capiō (“to take”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lv",
        "2": "kàmpt",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to seize"
      },
      "expansion": "Latvian kàmpt (“to seize”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "κάπτω",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to gulp down"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek κάπτω (káptō, “to gulp down”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "sense",
      "args": {
        "1": "To lift, to raise"
      },
      "expansion": "(To lift, to raise):"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "ru",
        "2": "поднима́ть"
      },
      "expansion": "Russian поднима́ть (podnimátʹ)"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "sla-pro",
        "2": "*jьmati"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Slavic *jьmati"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:heven<id:lift>",
        "id": "lift"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
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      "heven",
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    ],
    [
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      "hebban#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*habbjan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/habbjan"
    ],
    [
      "*habjaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/habjaną"
    ],
    [
      "*kapyéti",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/kapyéti"
    ],
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      "*kap-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/kap-#Proto-Indo-European:_seize"
    ],
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      "have",
      "have#English"
    ],
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      "heffe",
      "heffe#West_Frisian"
    ],
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      "heffen",
      "heffen#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "heben",
      "heben#German"
    ],
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      "hæve",
      "hæve#Danish"
    ],
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      "kap",
      "kap#Albanian"
    ],
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      "cáin",
      "cáin#Old_Irish"
    ],
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      "cacht",
      "cacht#Old_Irish"
    ],
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      "capiō",
      "capio#Latin"
    ],
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      "kàmpt",
      "kampt#Latvian"
    ],
    [
      "κάπτω",
      "κάπτω#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "κώπη",
      "κώπη#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
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      "поднима́ть",
      "поднимать#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "подня́ть",
      "поднять#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "има́ть",
      "имать#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "име́ть",
      "иметь#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "*jьmati",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/jьmati"
    ],
    [
      "*jьměti",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/jьměti"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An effort to raise something, such as a weight or one's own body, or to move something heavy.",
        "An upward motion; a rising; a swell or distention, as of the breast in difficult breathing, of the waves, of the earth in an earthquake, etc.",
        "A horizontal dislocation in a metallic lode, taking place at an intersection with another lode.",
        "The measure of extent to which a nautical vessel goes up and down in a short period of time."
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

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Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-aGVhdmU