Zakharov Vladimir

The Russian language is the soul of Russia, its sacred place. Our destiny is in the words we speak. That is why it is necessary to focus on the historical processes taking place in it; based on the similarity of the Old Slavonic and Russian languages, to use the material of historical grammar to illustrate linguistic phenomena. The enrichment of the spiritual world of students is facilitated by both a comprehensive analysis of the text, which includes the key concepts of Orthodox culture: home, temple, family, duty, honor, love, humility, beauty, and work on the etymology of a single word.

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Fascinating etymology or secrets of Russian words

Student's work

GBPOU RO PU №36 Zakharova Vladimir

Introduction

The Russian language is the soul of Russia, its sacred place. Our destiny is in the words we speak. That is why it is necessary to focus on the historical processes taking place in it; based on the similarity of the Old Slavonic and Russian languages, to use the material of historical grammar to illustrate linguistic phenomena. The enrichment of the spiritual world of students is facilitated by both a comprehensive analysis of the text, which includes the key concepts of Orthodox culture: home, temple, family, duty, honor, love, humility, beauty, and work on the etymology of a single word.

1. Science etymology

Etymology - (Greek ἐ τ ῠ μολογ ί α "the true meaning of the word")

The subject of etymology as a section of linguistics is the study of sources and the process of forming the vocabulary of a language andreconstruction the vocabulary of the language of the most ancient period (usually pre-literate).

Semantics as a branch of linguistics answers the question of how a person, knowing the words and grammatical rules of a natural language, is able to convey with their help a wide variety of information about the world (including his own inner world), even if he first encounters with such a task, and to understand what information about the world is contained in any statement addressed to him, even if he hears it for the first time.

AT vocabulary each language has a significant fund of words, the relationship of which form with the meaning is incomprehensible to native speakers, since the structure of the word cannot be explained on the basis of the models of word formation that operate in the language. Historical changes in words obscure the primary form and meaning of the word, andiconic the nature of the word determines the complexity of the reconstruction of primary motivation, i.e. connection of the primary form and meaning of the word. The purpose of the etymological analysis of the word is to determine when, in what language, according to whatderivational models, on the basis of what linguistic material, in what form and with what meaning the word arose, as well as what historical changes in its primary form and meaning determined the form and meaning known to the researcher.

As an independent linguistic discipline, semantics emerged relatively recently, at the end of the 19th century; the term "semantics" itself to designate a branch of science was first introduced in 1883 by the French linguist M. Breal, who was interested in the historical development of linguistic meanings. Until the end of the 1950s, along with it, the term "semasiology" was also widely used, now preserved only as a not very common name for one of the sections of semantics. However, questions related to the conduct of semantics were raised and, one way or another, resolved already in the oldest linguistic traditions known to us. After all, one of the main reasons forcing us to pay attention to the language is a misunderstanding of what the oral or written statement (text) addressed to us, or some part of it, means. Therefore, in the study of language, the interpretation of individual signs or entire texts - one of the most important activities in the field of semantics - has long occupied an important place. So, in China, in ancient times, dictionaries were created that contained interpretations of hieroglyphs. In Europe, ancient and medieval philologists compiled glosses, i.e. interpretation of incomprehensible words in written monuments. A truly rapid development of linguistic semantics began in the 1960s; at present, it is one of the most important sections of the science of language.

In the European scientific tradition, the question of the relationship between words and "things", the objects to which they belonged, was first raised by ancient Greek philosophers, but to this day various aspects of this relationship continue to be clarified. Consider the relation of the word to the "thing" more closely..

2. Origin of words

Asphalt. I wonder what this Greek word meant when there were no paved sidewalks and highways. Let's open the Greek dictionary. First syllable a - denial. Noun sphalma - fall, misfortune, failure. So the basic meaning is bad. The prefix a turns this word into its opposite, giving it a good quality. Asfaleya means: confidence, reliability, security. It is with this word asphaltos was named in ancient Greece the resin of coniferous plants. The name comes from the resin asphalt - tarred road.

Birch. From the word white in ancient times there were the words "birch", "linen", "squirrel". Birch - a tree with white bark; white squirrel - a kind of squirrel of a very rare and expensive breed was named after the color of the fur; "linen from white" according to the type "junk from old" originally meant unpainted white linen, then linen from this linen, then linen in general.

Nonsense. When the first shipbuilders arrived in Russia under Peter I, they spoke mostly German, accompanying their words with increased gestures, they explained the construction of masts, their installation, purpose, while saying hier und da, which in German means here and there . In Russian pronunciation and awareness, this turned into nonsense , which denotes something obscure and unnecessary.

Shabby dress.Weekday, home, everyday. a meal in the last century, cheap fabric was called - by the name of Zatrapeznov, at whose factory it was produced.

Clumsy . Some Russian writers can find the word clumsy

Okay, foldable: “Good, clumsy words come by themselves” (A. Kuprin). Writers use it from folk dialects. It comes from an ancient word key - order, beauty.

Hence the clumsy and clumsy - beautiful, stately; clumsy - clumsy, awkward.

It is forbidden. What is not - it is clear, it is important to establish what is lzya . It once sounded lz and was the dative case of a noun lie - freedom. Traces of the existence of the word lie we see in our modern benefit, benefit ; it is no longer found separately.

Education. It is believed that this word is a tracing paper of the German - a picture, an image, and the whole word means enlightenment. Word education can be found in church Russian books already in the 17th century, and German influences could hardly penetrate into them. Most likely, a direct connection with Old Church Slavoniccreate - createcompose, from the Slavicimage is likeness.

Forgive. The etymology of this word may seem surprising. Old Russian simple, corresponding to our simple, meant straight, unbent. Sorry therefore, it was important to straighten up, and then to allow the guilty one, who was bent in an apology bow, to straighten up. The exclamation "Forgive me!" therefore meant: "Let me raise my guilty head, get up from my knees ...". To forgive means to set free, to make free.

Rainbow. The word rainbow recorded in the dictionaries of the Russian language only since the 18th century. This word is East Slavic in origin, formed from the adjective glad meaning cheerful. First the word rainbow referred to something cheerful, and later - to a brilliant, sparkling. Word meaning connection rainbow with the meaning cheerful is also confirmed by the fact that in some regional dialects rainbow called veselka, veselukha.

River. One of the most archaic, ancient words of our language. It is related to the ancient Indian rayas - a stream, current, with the Celtic renos - a river, from which the geographical name Rhine arose. Probably in the mists of time river meant - a stormy stream, rapids.

Child. Such a good, sweet word, but in origin it is associated with disgusting slave . In Old Russian shy meant little slave, child of a slave. But a slave, or rob, then meant an orphan. Gradually, the baby got the meaning - just a child, and it turned into a child under the influence of assimilation.

Day. once existed days - collision. That is exactly how the meeting of day and night, their totality, and this word was originally understood.

Drawing. This word refers to the number of native Russians. It is an old derivative of the verb draw, which in the Proto-Slavic language had the meaning of cutting, chopping something. That is, originally drawing - this is cutting, cutting, notching, as well as a forest clearing.

In the sense familiar to us: "the image of any objects on paper, a plan of something" the word drawing used in Russian for a long time. At least since the 16th century.

Conclusion

Etymological analysis allows you to instill interest in the Russian language, through entertaining exercises, the development of language flair, broadening your horizons, and vocabulary. Mechanical memorization of words, text without understanding and comprehension is the most difficult and uninteresting form of obtaining knowledge.

The formation of coherent speech begins with work on the word, etymological analysis has an impact on spelling literacy.

Railway station

The word comes from the name of the place "Vauxhall" - a small park and entertainment center near London. The Russian Tsar, who visited this place, fell in love with it - in particular, the railway. Subsequently, he commissioned British engineers to build a small railway from St. Petersburg to his country residence. One of the stations on this section of the railway was called "Vokzal", and this name later became the Russian word for any railway station.

Hooligan

The word bully is of English origin. It is believed that the surname Houlihan was once a well-known London brawler, who brought a lot of trouble to the inhabitants of the city and the police. The surname has become a household name, and the word is international, characterizing a person who grossly violates public order.

Orange

Until the 16th century, Europeans had no idea about oranges at all. Russians, even more so. We don't grow oranges! And then the Portuguese navigators brought these delicious orange balls from the eastern countries. And they began to trade with their neighbors. Those, of course, asked: “Where do the apples come from?” - because they have not heard of oranges, but in shape this fruit looks like an apple. Merchants honestly answered: “Apples from China, Chinese!” The Dutch for "apple" is appel, and the Chinese for "apple" is sien.

Doctor

In the old days, they treated with conspiracies, spells, various whispers. An ancient healer, a sorcerer, would say something like this to the patient: “Go away, illness, to the quicksands, to the dense forests ...” And he muttered various words over the ill. Do you know what muttering, chatter was called until the beginning of the 19th century? Muttering, chatter was then called a lie. To mutter meant "to lie." The one who trumpets is the trumpeter, the one who weaves is the weaver, and the one who lies is the doctor.

Scammer

In Russia, swindlers were not called deceivers or thieves at all. This was the name of the masters who made the moshna, i.e. wallets.

Insect

The origin of the word animal is quite obvious: from the stomach - "life". But how to explain the strange name of the insect?

To answer this question, one does not need to be either an entomologist, that is, a scientist who studies insects, or a linguist. It is enough to remember how these very insects look. Remembered? Animals with "notches" on the body are insects. By the way, pure tracing paper from the French insect - from the Latin insectum "notched, notched (animal)".

Here we will answer another simple question why insects are called boogers. Yes, because the antennae of insects resemble goat horns. You can’t call them goats - they are too small, but they are just right as boogers. Remember, Chukovsky: “Thick-legged goat-insect” ...

Heaven

One version is that the Russian word "heaven" comes from "not, no" and "bes, demons" - literally a place free from evil/demons. However, another interpretation is probably closer to the truth. Most Slavic languages ​​have words similar to "sky", and they probably originated from the Latin word for "cloud" (nebula).

Slates

In the Soviet Union, a well-known manufacturer of rubber slippers was the Polymer plant in the city of Slantsy, Leningrad Region. Many buyers believed that the word “Slates” squeezed out on the soles was the name of the shoe. Further, the word entered the active vocabulary and became a synonym for the word "slippers".

The other day

Now the word the other day is almost a synonym for the word just now and means "recently, somehow the other day, but on which days, I don't remember."

However, the other day comes from the Old Russian phrase onom dni (“on that day”, that is, “on that day”), which was used as a completely accurate indication of the specific days that have already been discussed. Something like this: on the second and third of February, someone met someone in the nearest forest, and on the same days, that is, these days, that is, the other day, something happened in Paris ...

In general, with the invention and spread of calendars and chronometers, all these beautiful words have really become very outdated and have lost their true meaning. And their use is hardly justified now. If only for the red word.

nonsense

At the end of the last century, the French physician Gali Mathieu treated his patients with jokes. He gained such popularity that he did not keep up with all the visits and sent his healing puns by mail. This is how the word “nonsense” arose, which at that time meant a healing joke, a pun.

The doctor immortalized his name, but at present this concept has a completely different meaning.

How native Russian words arose

Have you ever wondered how many words from any phrase we utter belong to the language of which we are all speakers? And does the foreign always sound so obvious that it cuts the ear with its dissent? Let's talk about the origin of words in Russian as if we were getting to know them for the first time - and in fact, in fact, this is how it is.

Among archaeological researchers, it has long been accepted as an axiom that our Slavic ancestors, in the number of innumerable genera, covered the territory from the Pacific coast to the very north of Italy with the area of ​​\u200b\u200bits settlement. Of course, there were no number of dialects of that time, but the foundation, no doubt, was laid not in the modern Cyrillic alphabet, but in the original Slavic - ancient Aryan writing.

The Old Church Slavonic language was never primitive, but it always reflected the essence, not indulging in eloquence. The use of words was reduced to twelve components of the full and free transmission of any information, feelings, sensations:

1. The name of the elements of the human (animal) body, internal organs, structural features: hump, liver, leg;
2. Temporal indicators, with units of time intervals: morning, week, year, spring;
3. Elemental and natural phenomena, various natural objects: snow, wind, waterfall;
4. Name of plants: tavern, sunflower, birch;
5. Fauna: bear, minnow, wolf;
6. Ancillary household items: an ax, a yoke, a bench;
7. Concepts invested in figurative thinking: life, decency, glory;
8. Verb concepts: know, save, lie;
9. Characterizing concepts: old, greedy, sick;
10. Words indicating the place and time: here, at a distance, side;
11. Prepositions: from, on, about;
12. Conjunctions: and, but, but.

In any language, be it Old Germanic or Vedic Slavic, the Word originally had an essence extracted from the image it created. That is, the original meaning of any word was created on the basis of known concepts:

• astra \u003d Ast (star) + Ra (sun god) \u003d Star of the sun god Ra;
• kara = Ka (spirit of death) + Ra = deceased divine principle (in man).

However, with the acquisition of new concepts, new images also came. As a rule, these images brought ready-made names with them.

For example, the word "cream" - "cr? me”- in this form, it came to us from France, and meant a lot of whipped cream with some kind of fruit syrup ... or shoe polish of a thick, homogeneous consistency.

Another borrowing condition implies a convenient substitution of a verbose concept for a one-word one.

Imagine the familiar and simple word "case", which came to us from the German language (Futteral) and is translated as "case with lining." In Slavic literal it would sound like "storage box". Of course, in this situation, the “case” is much more convenient and capacious to pronounce. The same goes for “glass” - “bocal” from French - a tall vessel for wine in the shape of a glass.

It is impossible to deny the influence of fashion trends on the preferred use of more euphonious words. After all, the “bartender” somehow sounds more solid than just the “bartender”, and the “piercing” procedure itself seems to be something different and more modern than the banal “piercing”.

But, much stronger than even the trend of foreignness, had on the original Russian its closest ancestor, the Church Slavonic language, which entered into everyday life in the 9th century, as an example of writing in Russia. Echoes of it reach the ears of modern man, characterizing their affiliation with the following features:

• letter combinations: “le”, “la”, “re”, “ra” in a prefix or root, where in the current sound we pronounce: “here”, “olo”, “oro”. For example: head - head, before - before;
• the letter combination "zhd", later replaced by "zh". For example: alien - alien;
• the primary sound "u", then identified with "h": power - to be able;
• The first letter "e" is where we can use "o": once - once.

It is worth mentioning that the related Slavic languages ​​closest to us left a noticeable imprint in word mixing, often replacing the Old Russian originals: a pumpkin for a tavern, a shirt for a shirt.

In addition to the facts already mentioned, the 8th century, with its active trade and military movement, had a huge impact on the original Russian language. The first language reformers, therefore, turned out to be for the entire ancient Slavic people:

• Scandinavians (Swedes, Norwegians);
• Finns, Ugrians;
• Germans (Danes, Dutch);
• Turkic tribes (Khazars, Pechenegs, Cumans);
• Greeks;
• Germans;
• Romans (as native speakers of Latin).

Interesting fact. The word "money", derived from "tenge", came to us from the Turkic language. More precisely, this is another alteration from one of the large Turkic tribes, the Khazars, where “tamga” meant a brand. Surprisingly, among the Arabs (“danek”), and among the Persians (“dangh”), and the Indians (“tanga”), and even the Greeks (“danaka”), this word clearly echoes in consonance. In Russia, since the founding of Moscow coinage, money has received the unenviable status of "polushki", that is? penny, which was equal to two hundredth of the ruble.

And here is an interesting fact about the origin of the word "sandwich". Many people know that the root of this double name (“Butter” - butter, and “Brot” - bread) originates in German, and, in writing, it was used only with the final “t”. However, few people know that the discoverer of the bread and butter known to us is the great astronomer N. Copernicus. He was the first to come up with a means to stop the terrible death of people due to the numerous diseases generated by the war between the Teutonic Order and his native Poland. The fact is that negligent peasants who supplied bread to the defenders of the Olsztyn fortress, because of their neglect of elementary cleanliness, brought such dirty bread that it was literally covered with a layer of litter. Copernicus, who took the plight of the warrior very closely, suggested making the dirt more visible by covering it with a light film of cow butter. This made it possible to better clean off the dirt (unfortunately, along with the oil).

Already after the death of a famous scientist, one German pharmacist Buttenadt, with all his might, seized on a valuable idea and made it so that in a short time all European residents learned about the classic sandwich.

By the way, it is not difficult to recognize the words that came to us from distant countries by some model elements:

• from Greece - these are prefixes: “a”, “anti”, “arch”, “pan”;
• from Latin-speaking Rome - prefixes: "de", "counter", "trans", "ultra", "inter" and suffixes: "ism", "east", "or", "tor";
• also, the Greek and Latin languages ​​​​together gave the Slavs the initial sound "e". So, "selfish" is not our word;
• the sound “f” did not exist in the original Russian, and the letter itself, as a designation of sound, appeared much later than the words themselves came into use;
• the folk shapers of the rules of Russian phonetics would not even have thought to start a word with the sound “a”, so that every single “attack” and “angel” are of foreign origin;
• two- and three-vowel melodiousness disgusted Russian word formation. Consecutive vowels, no matter how many there are, immediately speak of the belonging of the word to foreign;
• the words of the Turkic dialect are easily recognizable: beard, quinoa, succession. They have a symbolic consonant alternation of vowels.

Foreign words are especially distinguished by their immutability in numbers and cases, as well as their “genderlessness”, as in the word “coffee”.

The most interesting stories of the origin of various words

In France, and indeed in all of Europe, there was no more luxurious atmosphere and freer life than at the court of Louis XV. The nobles and those especially close to the king seemed to be competing in who could most impress the spoiled ruler. Tables were served with pure gold or silver, masterpieces looked from the walls, from picture frames. No wonder that with such a radiant shell, its core - that is, the financial basis of the state, the treasury - was soon completely ruined.

Once, apparently thinking better of it, Louis acted really wisely. Of all those applying for the position of financial controller, he chose the most inconspicuous and young specialist, who did not acquire any fame for himself, except for a rare incorruptibility.

The new controller fully justified the trust shown to him by the king, but at the same time earned himself such a bad reputation among the courtiers that the name of Etienne Silhouette soon became a household name for poor economy and rare stinginess. Most likely, it would not have reached our days if it were not for the newest direction of modernist art that appeared just at that time - a contrasting drawing in a two-color solution, where only the painted outlines of the object appeared against a minor background. The Parisian nobility, accustomed to bright, exaggerated colors, greeted the new artistic genre with contemptuous ridicule, and the unfortunate Silhouette itself, with its economy, became the personification of this trend.

Everyone, at least once in their life, has crashed in a devastating fiasco - whether on an exam, on a first date, or in a work environment. Synonyms for this word are only the sad concepts of failure, defeat, failure. And all this despite the fact that the “fiasco” is nothing more than a simple bottle, however, a large bottle, but this cannot be blamed on her.

This story happened in Italy, in the 19th century, with one very famous theatrical comic actor Bianconelli. The fact is that he greatly valued his role of the “unique” and always tried to impress the viewer, playing entire performances on stage, with the help of just one object. Each time these were different objects, and success invariably accompanied unprecedented improvisations, until, to his misfortune, Bianconelli did not choose an ordinary wine bottle as his assistant.

The scene began as usual, but as the game progressed, the actor realized with horror that the audience did not react to any of his jokes; even the gallery was silent. He tried to improvise, but again faced the icy hostility of the audience. Desperate to evoke even the least bit of emotion, the actor angrily threw the bottle on the stage and shouted: “Go to hell, fiasco!”

It is not surprising that after such a resounding defeat of Bianconelli's reputation, the whole world learned about the "fiasco".

Bohemia

Representatives of modern bohemia are always ambiguous and very popular personalities, since only a few get to the top of this pedestal. However, a little more than a century and a half ago, belonging to the elite was formed by other values, and all these writers, artists, poets lived in extreme wretchedness and in conditions of real poverty. Paris, having the misfortune of partially drowning in the slums, acquired the bulk of the free creative pariah in the Latin Quarter. There, in one of the oldest houses, under the very roof, in the attic, lived the friends of E. Pothier and A. Murger. Later, Pottier would become famous as the author of the famous Internationale, but so far he was a poor and virtually unemployed friend of a struggling journalist. Murger tried on the essay commissioned to him, one might say, about himself - about the inhabitants of the Latin Quarter in Paris. All city aristocrats very insultingly called the inhabitants of the quarter “gypsies”. This gave the name to the essay, published in March 1845: "Scenes from the life of a gypsy." Translated from refined French, "gypsy" is bohemia. So figure it out after that, whether to offend contemporary representatives of art, or is it better to say in Russian: creators, sculptors, actors, artists, architects?

The word that came to us from Greece (katergon) was not the name of a closed government building, but a rowing vessel with three rows of oars. Such vessels are known to modern man as galleys - this is a later name for hard labor. Three rows of oars required, respectively, three rows of rowers, and work on ships of this type was considered a punishment, it was so hard. Forming his famous fleet, in 1696, Tsar Peter I ordered to build as many penal servitudes as possible, based on their power and rude simplicity. At the same time, it was also decided to put criminals at the oars so as not to litter the prison with rabble and benefit from them. Of course, the criminal people were chained to their new instrument of punishment - the oar - with heavy shackle chains.

And this procedure was called the sentence to the eternal service of the rower - "exile to hard labor."

Students of Russian seminaries, who saw Latin among their first tormentors as an obligatory subject, considered it a completely unworthy subject. To study it, they undertook with a gnashing of teeth, often not understanding either the meaning of what they read, or a reasonable explanation for the expenditure of so much effort. The so-called gerund was especially difficult for the students - a certain basis of Latin writing, completely alien to Russian perception. The abundance of types and nuances of the use of this monstrous speech form brought the poor seminarians to the infirmary bed.

In retaliation, the somewhat distorted pronunciation of the word has become a household name for all sorts of meaningless nonsense - "nonsense"

To begin with, a bikini is not a swimsuit, Bikini is an island that is part of the Marshall Islands archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. And it is not known, in connection with what whim, the Frenchman Leu Réar wanted his piquant invention to bear just such a name - maybe because the island was small, and it was difficult to call the textile creation produced big. However, the fact remains - an unknown engineer, engaged in moments of relaxation in cutting and sewing, suddenly struck the world with an unprecedented and scandalous masterpiece. Divided into “top” and “bottom”, the swimsuit so stunned the public that a severe ban was immediately established on it. For wearing a bikini in a public place, punishment was due, as for immoral behavior and violation of the order.

However, the original product has found its connoisseur - among the stars of cinema. After only a few photographic and big screen appearances by the most famous women of the time, the public commuted the sentence and the bikini rapidly gained popularity.

Portuguese navigators, apparently, could not even imagine that, unloading boxes with fragrant citrus fruit in European ports, they endow this part of the land with a whole era of admiration for foreign delicacy. In the meantime, until the 16th century, Europeans, like the Russian people, did not even hear about a strange fruit. Wonderful Chinese apples - by analogy with the famous fruit, they began to be called that - quickly appreciated in taste and became a more noble and aristocratic substitute for ordinary apples.

And the Russians accepted the orange boom from Holland. And they also called them Chinese apples. And so it went, from the Dutch language - "appel" (apple), "sien" (Chinese). Appelsien.

There is an interesting but unconfirmed version that this word, with an undeservedly distorted meaning, comes from the name of the famous German doctor Christian Loder. Moreover, he was not distinguished by either laziness of character or some other offensive vice, but, on the contrary, he contributed to the opening of the first clinic of synthesized mineral waters in Russia. With a special recommendation to the patients of the hospital, the doctor pointed out the need for a quick walk for three hours. Of course, such an innovation could not but arouse ridicule among the uninitiated, who contemptuously say that again, around the hospital, the people are “chasing the loafer”.

However, there is another version of the origin of this word, and it is more supported by scientists. The fact is that "lodder" in German means "scoundrel, worthless person." So deal with them.

School has not always been a place of study. Moreover, the very word "scole", translated from Greek, meant "time spent in idleness." In the 1st century BC e. in Greece they built similarities of small arenas, made up entirely of benches, built in a semicircle. These were places of public cultural recreation, where the Greeks, in the shade of trees, indulged in dreams and made appointments. However, these same tempting islands of peace, very much attracted the local luminaries of eloquence, exercising their oratorical skills in the circle of spectators. There were more and more listeners, but there was no peace at all. This prompted the Greeks to take decisive action to isolate pundits from the rest of the people. Thus, educational institutions were created, where speakers, as much as they liked, could strain their skills in front of each other and at the same time not violate public order. And scientists at home remained "chipped".

Tragedy

Few will be able to relate to the word "tragedy" in the usual sense, having learned that the true meaning of this word is ... "goat song." A song dedicated to the animal was sung, only in a parade procession, accompanied by dances and all sorts of wit. The supposed addressees of the hymns, who had to take all this mess at their own expense, were none other than the god Dionysius with his minions, the goat-footed Pans (Satyrs). Namely, in order to sing of their sharpness, prowess and cheerful disposition, a long, with many couplets, tragodia was invented. It is impossible not to pay tribute, the word has undergone many semantic changes before it came to us in the sense in which we understand it today.

Is it possible to imagine an eskimo in the form of a pie? But the American Christian Nelson called his invention exactly that, when, in 1920, the first popsicle saw the light. The history of the invention of the most delicious ice cream in the world began with the suffering written on the face of a little boy who, standing in front of a shop window, could not decide what he wanted more - ice cream or chocolate. Nelson wondered if both types of product could be successfully combined and, as a result of his experiments, the world learned about cold milk ice cream covered with a crispy chocolate crust. And this masterpiece was called: "Eskimo pie."

When speaking our native language, we rarely think about how the words we use came about and how their meanings may have changed over time. Etymology is the name of the science of the history of vocabulary and the origin of words.

New words appear literally every day. Some do not linger in the language, while others remain. Words, like people, have their own history, their own destiny. They can have relatives, a rich pedigree, and, on the contrary, be complete orphans. A word can tell us about its nationality, about its parents, about its origin... So, another "portion" of words with a history of origin.

Money

If today, speaking the word "money", we first of all remember Western currencies, then money in Russia definitely had Eastern roots. This word could have entered the Russian language in two different ways. From Iranian merchants and travelers, who then used silver coins called “tenge” (cf. Persian dāng “coin”), or from the Tatar-Mongols, who conquered the territory of present-day Russia a little later for a long time.

Moreover, the source of this root in the Turkic languages, which include the Mongol-Tatar dialect, could be three different things. Firstly, the supreme heavenly deity of the Turkic-Mongolian pantheon is Tengri. Secondly, the collection of money from trade transactions - tamga (originally "brand", "seal"). From there, by the way, our customs came out. And thirdly, the Turkic coin tängä, whose name, with the help of a suffix, was formed from the word “tän”, which means a squirrel. In this case, we can draw an analogy with the old Russian word "kuna" (marten), which was called 1/22 hryvnia. This reflects the functioning of furs in the role of money in the early stages of the development of society.

Young woman

It would seem that everything is very simple: the girl is from the virgin. But if you dig deeper, it turns out that the Proto-Slavic *děva originates in the Proto-Indo-European word *dhē(i̯), which means "to suck, feed with the help of the breast." In this, by the way, she is close to children (children), who come from the same root. From there, the old Russian verb "to reach" - "to breastfeed."

Boy

It's not so easy with guys either. This word, most likely, came from the Proto-Slavic *parę - a diminutive nickname from parobъkъ (here you can recall the Ukrainian lad), going back to "rob" (boy).

The original root here is *orbę, which also gave "child" and "slave", which developed from one of the meanings of the word "rob" - "orphan", since, according to some sources, it was originally the orphans who did the hardest work around the house.

Dinner

Russian words denoting meals have a fairly transparent logic of education. Breakfast came from the combination "in the morning", denoting a period of time - "during the morning."

Lunch was formed from the ancient prefix *ob- and the root *ed- and meant, in general, ... "to overeat." Indeed, according to the rules of normal nutrition in our latitudes, lunch should be the most abundant meal.

It may seem that dinner is when all things are ALREADY redone and you can start eating. Dahl hints at this in his dictionary, but still the word "dinner" comes from the old Russian "ug", that is, "south". And all because they sat down to supper when the sun moved from east to south.

Pillow

Scientists have been struggling with this word for several centuries. Dahl suggests that the pillow is what is placed UNDER THE EAR. Vasmer, Shansky and Chernykh are sure that this is something that is stuffed with something (down, feathers, cotton wool and even holofiber, be it wrong). There are also less serious, but more emotional versions of the origin of this word: 1) what they cry into when they need to pour their SOUL, and 2) what they choke

Fool

They say that fools in their most common meaning now were born thanks to Archpriest Avvakum. So in the 17th century, in his writings, he called rhetoricians, philosophers, logicians and other "advocates of demonic wisdom", comparing them with buffoons.

However, the root from which this word comes was already ready to take on the corresponding meaning. Philologists believe that the “fool” came from the Proto-Indo-European *dur (bite, sting) and at first meant “bitten”, “stung”, then transformed into “mad, crazy, sick” (from a bite) and only then turned into “bad, stupid." By the way, the ritual of initiation into buffoons also has something to do with this. According to one version, a jester candidate had to survive a viper's bite before starting his professional career.

Bee

Who would have thought that a bee and a bull are relatives. And if from the point of view of biology they are very far from each other, then philologically they are brother and sister.

The fact is that they come from the same Proto-Slavic root, which denoted the sound of a certain character. Hence, by the way, the outdated word "buzz" (buzz, buzz) and a bug. The bee itself in Old Russian was written like this - bechela, but after the fall of the reduced ones and the stunning of B in front of Ch, it acquired its current appearance.

We don't often think about how the words we use came into being and how their meanings may have changed over time. Meanwhile, words are quite living beings. New words appear literally every day. Some do not linger in the language, while others remain. Words, like people, have their own history, their own destiny. They can have relatives, a rich pedigree, and, on the contrary, be complete orphans. The Word can tell us about one's nationality, about one's parents, about one's origin. The study of the history of vocabulary and the origin of words is an interesting science - etymology.

Railway station

The word comes from the name of the place "Vauxhall" - a small park and entertainment center near London. The Russian Tsar, who visited this place, fell in love with it - in particular, the railway. Subsequently, he commissioned British engineers to build a small railway from St. Petersburg to his country residence. One of the stations on this section of the railway was called "Vokzal", and this name later became the Russian word for any railway station.

Hooligan

The word bully is of English origin. According to one version, the surname Houlihan was once worn by a famous London brawler, who caused a lot of trouble for the residents of the city and the police. The surname has become a household name, and the word is international, characterizing a person who grossly violates public order.

Orange

Until the 16th century, Europeans had no idea about oranges at all. Russians, even more so. We don't grow oranges! And then the Portuguese navigators brought these delicious orange balls from China. And they began to trade with their neighbors. In Dutch, "apple" is appel, and "Chinese" is sien. Borrowed from the Dutch language, the word appelsien is a translation of the French phrase Pomme de Chine - "an apple from China."

Doctor

It is known that in the old days they were treated with various conspiracies and spells. The ancient healer said to the sick something like this: "Go away, illness, to the quicksands, to the dense forests ..." And he muttered various words over the ill. The word doctor is originally Slavic and is derived from the word “vrati”, which means “to speak”, “to speak”. Interestingly, from the same word comes “lie”, which for our ancestors also meant “to speak”. It turns out that in ancient times doctors lied? Yes, but this word initially did not contain a negative meaning.

Scammer

Ancient Russia did not know the Turkic word "pocket", because money was then carried in special wallets - purses. From the word "sack" and produced "swindler" - a specialist in thefts from scrotums.

Restaurant

The word "restaurant" means "strengthening" in French. This name was given in the 18th century to one of the Parisian taverns by its visitors after the owner of the establishment, Boulanger, introduced nutritious meat broth to the number of dishes on offer.

Shit

The word "shit" comes from the Proto-Slavic "govno", which means "cow" and was originally associated only with cow "cakes". "Beef" - "cattle", hence "beef", "beef". By the way, from the same Indo-European root and the English name of the cow - cow, as well as the shepherd of these cows - cowboy. That is, the expression "fucking cowboy" is not accidental, it has a deep family connection.

Heaven

One version is that the Russian word "heaven" comes from "not, no" and "bes, demons" - literally a place free from evil/demons. However, another interpretation is probably closer to the truth. Most Slavic languages ​​have words similar to "sky", and they probably originated from the Latin word for "cloud" (nebula).

Slates

In the Soviet Union, a well-known manufacturer of rubber slippers was the Polymer plant in the city of Slantsy, Leningrad Region. Many buyers believed that the word “Slates” squeezed out on the soles was the name of the shoe. Further, the word entered the active vocabulary and became a synonym for the word "slippers".

nonsense

In the late 17th century, the French physician Gali Mathieu treated his patients with jokes.
He gained such popularity that he did not keep up with all the visits and sent his healing puns by mail.
This is how the word “nonsense” arose, which at that time meant a healing joke, a pun.
The doctor immortalized his name, but at present this concept has a completely different meaning.