udar

Udar is a noun used in several Slavic languages, most notably Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene, Polish, Czech, Russian, and Bulgarian, where it denotes a blow, strike, hit, or impact. The word derives from Proto-Slavic and has cognates across the Slavic language family, including Russian udar, Czech úder, Polish udar, and Serbo-Croatian udar.

In everyday usage, udar refers to a physical hit or the effect of contact, such as a blow delivered by a person or by an object. In sports and martial contexts, it describes a specific strike or punch. It can also be used in mechanical or physical senses to signify the moment of contact between two moving bodies, or the impact produced by a tool or instrument.

In some languages, the term extends into medical usage to denote a type of acute event; for example, in Polish, udar mózgu means a stroke. This medical sense is not universal across all Slavic languages but is recognized in at least one major language in the family.

Figuratively, udar can describe a sudden, disruptive event or a major setback, akin to an impactful occurrence in a person’s life or in a situation. The exact nuance and idiomatic usage vary by language and context, but the core meaning centers on the idea of contact, collision, or consequence arising from an impact.

See also: blow, strike, stroke.