Did the adjective рад used to have a longer form?

Question

While I was searching for the longer form of an adjective рад, I found the following sentence:

рад, рада, радо, рады are short form adjectives, and also the only commonly used short form adjective in Modern Russian that does not have a long form.

Source: https://learningrussian.wordpress.com/2008/11/11/short-form-adjectives/

This suggests that there existed a longer form of рад as well. Assuming this author is correct, is радый the corresponding long form or is there another?

Also, is the use of рад preferred to радостный, when used as a predicate?

Answer 1

Its longer form is indeed "радый", but its usage these days is, how can I put it... reserved for famous writers, for when they need that certain artistic effect.

Довольный собой, радый за своих помощников, я усмехался в неотросшие усы. // Виктор Астафьев, 1996.

If used in everyday conversation, it would sound really odd, borderline illiterate.

Also, is the use of рад preferred to радостный when used as a predicate?

My first reaction was, "but those words are different." They're not interchangeable in a general context; you use "рад" when you need "рад," and you use "радостный" when you need "радостный".

But maybe you had some specific context in mind? An example sentence?

Answer 2

Yes, it did exist as радый, as cited in both Dahl's dictionary and Sreznevsky's dictionary, although the latter mentions that the full form was rarely used.

As an attributive adjective, it has been suppleted by the word радостный.

As a predicate, you should use the form рад: Иван рад, but радостный Иван.

There are other adjectives: люб, гож, горазд, должен, надобен etc. which are rarely or never used in the attributive role.

Answer 3

Yes, if the full form existed in modern Russian, it would be spelled радый. Cf. Ukrainian радий.

Also, is the use of рад preferred to радостный, when it is used as a predicate?

The use of рад is rather codified in formulas such as Рад познакомиться, буду рад помочь, etc, whereas радостный is used more in the original sense of 'happy, full of joy':

• Что это ты сегодня такой радостный? - Why do you look so happy today?

Answer 4

The answer you found is not correct.

In Russian, the short forms of adjectives are usually used to give a kind of stronger emphasis to an action or an event.

The long forms of рад, рада, радо, рады are: радостный, радостная, радостное, радостные

To understand the difference between the short and long forms, here are two examples:

Он радостный (He is cheerful) Он рад, что...(He is glad that...)

The word радый is actually an old version and is scarcely used in the modern Russian. Maybe it's still used in some rural regions. But you will find it rather in some older literature.

I hope, I could explain it in a proper way so you can understand it.