Coined byAtis Kronvalds in 1868, derived fromvēstīt(“to herald, to announce”) (comparevēsts(“news”)). Its form was influenced byAncient Greekἱστορίᾱ(historíā,“inquiry, examination, research; news; retelling; history”); Kronvalds cited a wordhistorija (no longer in use) as a synonym ofvēsture. The concept of history had previously been expressed asstāsti(“stories”),pasaulesstāsti(“world stories”) (compareGermanGeschichte(“stories; history”)), and, in the mid-19th century, also with the Russian-derived termistorija (compareисто́рия(istórija)).[1]
vēsture f (5th declension)
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | vēsture | — |
| genitive | vēstures | — |
| dative | vēsturei | — |
| accusative | vēsturi | — |
| instrumental | vēsturi | — |
| locative | vēsturē | — |
| vocative | vēsture | — |
