Keyword: «verb»

This article examines the semantics of the verbs to want and to intend. Their original roots are reconstructed, and the unique features of their modern semantics are identified. The interaction of these verbs is a surprising phenomenon, as despite their seemingly invisible relationship, the verbs are very close internally: the sememes to want and to intend contain the seme of desire, which developed metaphorically in the verbs and displaced their original meanings, and the seme of active will, which is determined by the presence of motivation, intentionality, and the desire to obtain something in to want and to intend.

The article analyzes the semantics and functioning of two synonymous verbs in modern Russian, and identifies their common features and peculiarities. Despite the apparent semantic proximity of the synonyms, the article identifies the reasons and argues for the implicit opposition of the verbs, which is caused by differences in their contextual fixedness and expression: a blessing is perceived as a well-wishing expressed through a verbal formula, while a sign of the cross is perceived as a well-wishing expressed through a gesture.