This is the 11743rd most frequent Russian word.
задал
"Zadal" means "assigned" or "set" (past tense, masculine form).
Here, 'задал' is used to mean 'assigned' or 'gave' in the context of setting a task for students.
Учитель задал домашнее задание на завтра.
The teacher assigned homework for tomorrow.
In this sentence, 'задал' means 'posed' or 'asked' a question, indicating the act of directing a query to others.
Он задал трудный вопрос, на который никто не смог ответить.
He asked a difficult question that no one could answer.
Here, 'задал' is used to mean 'set' or 'determined' in the context of guiding or setting a course.