dokumentoval

Dokumentoval is a past-tense form of the verb dokumentovat found in Czech and Slovak. It is the masculine singular past indicative and past participle form, typically translated into English as "documented" or "was documenting." Czech and Slovak place stress on the first syllable; an approximate pronunciation is "DOH-koo-men-toh-val."

Grammatical role and forms

As a past-tense marker in these West Slavic languages, dokumentoval agrees with the subject in gender and number through related endings (feminine dokumentovala, neuter dokumentovalo, plural dokumentovali). The base verb dokumentovat is imperfective in Czech and Slovak, denoting the action of recording or compiling documentation; perfective senses are expressed by related verbs such as zdokumentovat (Czech) or zdokumentovať (Slovak). Dokumentoval may function in narrative past descriptions, participial phrases, or as part of compound tenses and passive constructions.

Etymology and meaning

The verb derives from the international root document-, ultimately from Latin documentum via borrowings in European languages (e.g., French documenter, English document). Its core meaning relates to making an official record, collecting evidence, or providing written or audiovisual proof.

Usage and translations

Common in legal, academic, journalistic, and technical contexts, dokumentoval appears in reports and descriptions of past documentation activities. Translations include English "documented," German "dokumentierte," Polish "dokumentował," and Russian "задокументировал" (in perfective contexts). Examples in Slavic-language texts typically describe who documented an event, when, and with what materials.