Where does “обещать” come from?
обещать (Russian) comes from Old East Slavic обѣщати, from Old Church Slavonic обѣщать, from Proto-Slavic oběťati, from Proto-Slavic věťati, from Proto-Balto-Slavic waitjāˀtei.
обещать (Russian): to promise, to pledge
Ancestry of “обещать”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old East Slavic | обѣщати | — |
| 2 | Old Church Slavonic | обѣщать | — |
| 3 | Proto-Slavic | oběťati | to promise, to pledge |
| 4 | Proto-Slavic | věťati | to say, to make a claim, to converse |
| 5 | Proto-Balto-Slavic | waitjāˀtei | — |