The article examines the functioning of prefixless lexemes with the root 'gramot-' in the Russian language in synchrony and diachrony, and also the changes in the vocabulary of the language. The work is based on the research of linguists postulating linguistic semantics as a means of comprehending and understanding culture. The root 'gramot-' has suffi-cient semantic and derivational potential in Russian, so it enables us to trace how the semantic space of the members of the root nest has been changing. Word-formation derivatives with the root 'gramot-' are considered as a significant fact of the lexical word family with the dominant 'gramota' (literacy) in the linguistic world picture of a Russian person. The special attitude towards literate people in ancient Russia was the basis for the worldview of the Russian people and the formation of their culture, and determined the norms of behavior and the attitude towards others, which is reflected in the language. This article undertakes a historical and lexicological analysis of the word 'gramota' and its derivatives: the development of the root family with the apex gramot- is examined at different chronological periods. The examination of the vocabulary at different stages of language development has shown that the viability of the root gramot- has not been lost: new units have appeared, fixing realities of a certain time period in the word. The author shows some trends characteristic of modern Russian: fewer derivatives with the root under study and wider combinabil-ity of most derivatives, narrowed meaning of some lexical units, the word 'gramota' and its derivatives are included in the processes of naming. Examples of using the lexemes in question are taken from the national corpus of the Russian language.