бивать

Russian

Etymology

бить (bitʹ) +‎ -ива́ть (-ivátʹ)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [bʲɪˈvatʲ]
  • Audio (Saint Petersburg):(file)

Verb

бива́ть • (bivátʹimpf

  1. to beat (repeatedly or frequently); iterative of бить (bitʹ)
    • 1846, Фёдор Достоевский [Fyodor Dostoevsky], “Июнь. Тетрадь. II”, in Бедные люди; English translation from Constance Garnett, transl., Poor People, 1914:
      Жена́ его́ бива́ла, сосла́ла жить в ку́хню и до того́ довела́, что он наконе́ц привы́к к побо́ям и дурно́му обхожде́нию и не жа́ловался.
      Žená jevó bivála, soslála žitʹ v kúxnju i do tovó dovelá, što on nakonéc privýk k pobójam i durnómu obxoždéniju i ne žálovalsja.
      His wife used to beat him, make him live in the kitchen, and brought at last to such pass that he was quite ​accustomed to being beaten and ill-treated and did not complain of it.

Usage notes

  • This is an iterative verb, and in standard language is conjugated only in the infinitive and the past tense.

Conjugation