buď

See also: bud, Bud, and búð

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbuc]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uc

Etymology 1

The conjunction comes from the imperative buď, which formed from budu (“I will be”), from Proto-Slavic *bǫdǫ (“I will become, I will be”), which was a future tense of *byti (“to be”).

Conjunction

buď

1. either

Usage notes

• Used in the pair buď-nebo ("either-or").
• Never used in questions, for example:

  Pojedu buď vlakem nebo autobusem. ― I'll go either by train or by bus.

  Pojedu vlakem nebo autobusem. ― I'll go by train or by bus.

  Pojedou vlakem nebo autobusem? ― Will they go by train or by bus?

Verb

buď

1. second-person singular imperative of být

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

buď

1. second-person singular imperative of budit

Further reading

• “buď”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “buď”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “buď”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech)

Slovak

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [buc]

Etymology 1

The conjunction developed from the imperative form buď, from the earlier *budi, inherited from Proto-Slavic *bǫdi (“be!”), which was the imperative form of *bǫdǫ (the future form of *byti (“to be”)), ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to be, to grow”).

Conjunction

buď

1. Introduces the first of two (or occasionally more or all) options or possibilities, the second (or last) of which is introduced by alebo (“or”) or buď as well: either

   1900, Jozef Gregor Tajovský, Do konca :

   Buď už bol okolo sena, alebo zvyšné kosy skúmal.

   He was either already around the hay, or was examining the remaining scythes.

Verb

buď

1. second-person singular imperative of byť

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

buď

1. second-person singular imperative of budiť

Further reading

• “buď”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024