Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/vada

Action noun of *vaditi (“to argue, to accuse, to hamper”) +‎ *-a.

West Slavic meaning is derived from the figurative “slander, defamation” → “flaw”. Similar semantic shift is observed with synonymous *porokъ (in East, South Slavic).

*vada f

1. argument, quarrel, scuffle

   Synonyms: *svara, *dręzga

2. (figurative, abstract) accusation, slander

   Synonyms: *kleveta, *xula, *porokъ

3. (by extension) defect, flaw (West Slavic)

• East Slavic:
  • Middle Belarusian: вада (vada, “slander”)
    • Belarusian: ва́да (váda, “defect”)
    • ⇒ Belarusian: ва́дка (vádka, “scuffle, brawl”)
  • Russian: ва́да (váda, “scuffle”)
    • ⇒ Russian: ва́дьба (vádʹba, “accusation”)
  • Carpathian Rusyn: сва́да (sváda, “argument, quarrel, scuffle”)
  • Ukrainian: ва́да (váda, “defect”)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic: вада (vada, “accusation”)
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: vada, váda
  • Polish: wada
  • Slovak: vada
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: wada

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “вада”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Anikin, A. E. (2011) “вада II”, in Русский этимологический словарь [Russian Etymological Dictionary] (in Russian), issue 5 (буба – вакштаф), Moscow: Znak, →ISBN, page 317

Action noun of *vaditi (“to pull, to tug”) +‎ *-a.

*vàda f^[1]

1. conduct, endeavour

   Coordinate terms: *vodъ, *vedenьje, *vadežь

• *vaďa (ja-stem, < *vaďati +‎ *-a)

• *navada (“habit, conduct”)
• *povada (“habit”)
• *zavada (“exercise”)

• East Slavic:
  • Russian: ва́да (váda), пова́дка (povádka, “habit”)
• South Slavic:
  • Slovene: váda, vája (tonal orthography)

• Anikin, A. E. (2011) “вада I”, in Русский этимологический словарь [Russian Etymological Dictionary] (in Russian), issue 5 (буба – вакштаф), Moscow: Znak, →ISBN, page 317

Unclear:

• Possibly related to Proto-Slavic *voda (“water”), from Proto-Indo-European *wed- (with acute and lengthening due to Winter's law). Perhaps parallel to Russian ва́дья (vádʹja, “puddle”), Belarusian ва́дкі (vádki, “watery”).
• Identical to Etymology 2 (per BER), analogous to Latvian vads (“pipe, conduction line”).
• Borrowed or cognate with Latin vadum (“ford”) (whence Romanian vad), Proto-Germanic *wadą (“shallow water”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weh₂dʰ- (“to pass, to wade”). Favoured by Melnychuk for the Ukrainian descendant.

*vàda f

1. irrigation channel, duct
2. source of water

• *vadišče (augmentative)

• East Slavic:
  • Russian: ва́да (váda, “puddle, body of water”) (dialectal)
    • ⇒ Russian: ва́дега (vádega), ва́дига (vádiga)
  • Ukrainian: ва́да (váda, “groove”) (possibly from Romanian)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: ва́да (váda)
  • Macedonian: вада (vada)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Serbo-Croatian: ва̏да

    Serbo-Croatian: vȁda

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “вадья”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Anikin, A. E. (2011) “вада IV”, in Русский этимологический словарь [Russian Etymological Dictionary] (in Russian), issue 5 (буба – вакштаф), Moscow: Znak, →ISBN, page 318
• Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1982), “вада”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), volume 1 (А – Г), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, page 318
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “вада”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 111