Origin of the word Fascinating etymology, or the secrets of Russian words

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Lesson objectives.

Creating conditions for each student to understand the role of comparative historical analysis in determining the lexical meaning of words.

Development of creative, critical and heuristic thinking.

Fostering a value-based attitude towards the origins of the Russian language.

Lesson objectives.

1. Shape positive motivation to the branch of linguistics being studied.
2. To teach how to argue for the relationship of words through comparative historical analysis.
3. Develop the ability to use an etymological dictionary.
4. Explore ways to solve etymological problems.
5. Help students realize their creative and analytical abilities.

Technologies used: theory of development of critical thinking, heuristic technologies, problem method.

Lesson progress

Stage 1.

Student motivation

A name is given to everything - both the beast and the object.
There are plenty of things around, but there are no nameless ones...
Language is both old and eternally new!
And it's so beautiful -
In a huge sea - a sea of ​​words -
Swim every hour!

The language in which we think and speak is always a reflection of our essence. But do we often think about why some other phenomenon or object is called that? Do you want to discover the secret of the birth of words by looking into the depths of centuries? Our lesson will help you with this.

This lesson does not relate to any of the sections of linguistics studied in the school curriculum. But he is closely related to each of them. Knowledge of phonetics will help you understand the phonetic processes occurring in our language. Morphemics and word formation will give new discoveries. You can’t do without morphology here either. Do you want to know why all names of nationalities are nouns and only Russians are adjectives? Go for it! Everything is in your hands!

Stage 2.

Setting lesson goals

Do you know how to set goals and achieve them? Let's try it! Determine your goals for today's lesson. Write them down in your notebook.

Get to know the goals of the other students (to do this, I suggest you exchange notebooks with your closest neighbors). Maybe among them there are your like-minded people. After all, it is much easier to go towards your intended goal if you feel a friendly shoulder nearby.

Formulate questions that you would like answered in our lesson. (Questions are put on the board)

Choose those from other students' questions that you can answer now. Share your knowledge with them.

Reflection of activity.

1. What feelings and sensations did you have while working on your goals?
2. What are your main results when completing the task? How were you able to achieve them?

Stage 3

The topic of our lesson is “Fascinating etymology.” How many of you know what etymology is? By the second root you can guess that this is science. But what is science about?

Back in 1806, N. Yanovsky gave the following definition of etymology: “Word origin, word production; the true product of the beginning of words or an explanation of their exact meaning.” Which of the words in this definition do you think is a translation from Greek? etymon? - “truth, the true meaning of the word.” So, today we will search for the truth with you!

Pay attention to the second version of the topic of our lesson. What word fascinates you about it? Maybe “secrets”? Try to name several associations for this word. Do any of you have the word “detective” among these associations? I don’t know why, but it was this association that gave me the idea to invite you to the detective agency today.

What do you think our detective agency will be called? Suggest your name for this agency. Don't forget about the topic of our lesson!

Task 1. “Detective Agency”

Goal: give a name to the detective agency.

Algorithm for completing the task:

1. Think about the name of a detective agency that deals with the etymology of words. Submit your agency name. Maybe you can suggest several options for the name?
2. Try to imagine what the agency premises looks like. You can use the Paint program and reflect your ideas in the attached file. If you don't like to draw, you can capture your sketch in writing. Justify the necessity of the things you have chosen as attributes of a detective agency.
3. Reflection: Ask our fictional detective a question. What would you like to ask him?

And we boldly open the doors and enter the detective agency “Look to the root.” How do you understand the word “see”? What, from your point of view, does the expression in the name of our agency mean?

The word “root” has many meanings. Choose from the suggested values ​​the one that matches our theme:

1. The underground part of plants.
2. The internal part of the tooth, located in the body, is the hair.
3. Root of the equation.
4. In words (in linguistics: the main, significant part of a word).
5. The beginning, source, origins of something.

Stage 4

Every science has its own discoverer. We have a sketch of this person.

Task 2. "Identikit"

Goal: to develop observation skills, the ability to see the “invisible”, learn to create a characteristic of a person based on his external data.

Algorithm for completing the task:

1. Describe the portrait presented. Imagine what this person could be like, paying attention to the gaze, forehead, chin, and oval of the face.
2. Compare your guesses with those of other students. Note which probable qualities you missed and which you noted with particular accuracy.
3. Reflection. Describe your feeling when completing this task. Is it true what they say that “the eyes are the mirror of the soul”?

Before us is a portrait of A.Kh. Vostokov. Let's turn the pages of history...

The island of Saaremaa (Ezele), the city of Arensburg (later Kingisepp, now Kuressaare), on the shores of the Gulf of Riga. March 16, 1781. A boy was born into the German Ostenek family. The happy parents named the newborn Alexander. Could they then imagine that their son in the near future would change his surname Ostenek to Vostokov, begin to consider himself Russian and go down in the history of world science as an outstanding Russian philologist, although they predicted a different future for him and prepared him for a different career.

But A.Kh.’s favorite pastime was Vostokov was to compare and contrast words from different languages, to find common and different things in them.

This is a very exciting activity. How many interesting things can be discovered! Have you ever tried to compare words from different languages? Of course, to do this, you need to know languages. But if you study in a serious educational institution, then you study not just one, but several languages, including, perhaps, ancient ones: Latin, Old Church Slavonic. Here are the cards in your hands.

In the archive of manuscripts of A.Kh. Vostokov keeps a small notebook (eight sheets in total), on which is written in his hand: “Root and primitive words of the Slavic language.” Can you guess what these words are that the researcher called radical and primitive? This means that not all words were of interest to A.Kh. Vostokov, and those consisting only of the root are the most ancient, primitive. Think about what a capacious definition for the words - primitives. These are the first formed (later derivatives will be created from them, nests of related words will be formed, and the primitives will title them and become the tops of word-forming nests) and, as it were, conveying the first image, i.e. the characteristic that served as the basis for the name.

Want to know a little more about this amazing man? Let's call on the Internet and the queen of science, the Book, for help. With their help, you can answer the question: What contribution did A.Kh. Vostokov make to the development of etymology?

It will be yours homework.

Goal: understanding the significance of the scientist’s contribution to the development of science.

The task can be completed in the following options:

1. Letter of gratitude to A.Kh. Vostokov from the distant future.
2. Ode “On the day of the discovery of the great etymology.”
3. Your own option

Stage 5

And you and I will continue to get acquainted with the detective of the “Look to the Root” agency and try together with him to look “inside” the words.

We are so used to words... We read, write, talk, laugh, joke, sing, and even quarrel. We need language like we need air. But how rarely do we think about how the word appeared, what its history and origin are. Etymology studies the history and origin of a word, and is an important section of the history of language, without knowing which we can only describe facts and objects, almost without explaining them at all. Science explains them.

However, establishing the “original” meaning of a word does not exhaust the tasks of etymological research. In their development, words usually undergo various changes. In particular, the sound appearance of the word changes. For example, the ancient form in the morning in modern Russian it sounds like Tomorrow. Restoring an older form often makes it possible to clarify the etymology of a word. This is exactly the case with the word Tomorrow. In itself, it is unclear etymologically. And here is the form in the morning puts everything in its place: morning - tomorrow- this is the time that follows the morning.

Task 3. “Let's follow the trail”

Goal: get acquainted with etymological dictionaries, learn, using comparative phonetic analysis, to identify from the presented words words formed by changes at the phonetic level.

Algorithm for completing the task:

1. Get acquainted with etymological dictionaries, for example, with the “Historical and Etymological Dictionary of the Modern Russian Language” by P.Ya. Chernykh, “Brief Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language” by N.M. Shansky and T.A. Bobrova, “School Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language” by these the same authors; “Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language” by G.P. Tsyganenko.
2. Carefully consider the construction of entries in these dictionaries. What information do they carry?
3. Compare the words of the modern language and the original ones, i.e. those words from which the data were formed.
4. Mark those in whose formation phonetic changes are observed.
5. Write down 5-10 words you find and send them to the forum.
6. Read other students' answers. Ask them to prove the presence of phonetic changes in the words that interest you.

Stage 6

To restore the oldest stages of the history of a word accessible to us, to reveal the reasons that led to the emergence of a word, to determine its closest “relatives” - these are the main tasks facing etymology.

Such tasks are now facing us.

Task 4. “Find relatives”

Goal: to trace the “pedigree” of words up to its etymological birth, to learn to argue the relationship of words through comparative historical analysis.

1. Words given: swamp, lord, wet, hairy, parish, cure, elbow, possess, get along, hobby. Among them there are three words that go back to the same common Slavic root. Find them.
2. Group the following words into word-forming slots: crafty, bend, beam, radiant, Lukomorye, splinter, basket, radiant, pay, archer, case, better.

Task 5. “Let’s sort it out piece by piece”

Purpose: to compare the morphemic structure of words from a modern and historical point of view.

Reflection on tasks 3-5.

By completing the previous tasks, you became more closely acquainted with what etymology does. You have explored the origin of words, the historical processes occurring within words. Try to make a syncwine with the word “etymology”.

Algorithm for compiling a syncwine:

Line 1 – noun (“etymology”)

Line 2 – 2-3 adjectives that you associate with this noun

Line 3 – 2-3 verbs

Line 4 – a noun that is for you an antonym for this concept (fashionably situational)

Line 5 – a phrase reflecting our concept

If any of you have not yet encountered compiling syncwines, then perhaps this example will help you understand the essence of completing the task:

Coniferous, green, vast
Grows, fascinates, gives
The Siberian taiga is generous
Take care!

Stage 7

There are many different games in the world. But is it possible to play etymology? It turns out that it is possible. This game was invented by linguists, pursuing an entertaining, humorous goal, since they gave a deliberately false etymological interpretation of words in the Russian language, hence the unusual name “pseudo-etymology”.

Let's take for example the word left-handed. It was formed from the adjective left + sha and means “a person who does everything with his left hand.” But you can also give a humorous interpretation: to the noun lion add suffix -sh-, the word was formed left-handed meaning “female lion”. Or, for example, the word contract in scientific etymology means “agreement”, then in pseudo-etymology dog-o-thief will mean “a person who steals dogs”.

The following words can be explained in the same way: breakfast- “dream about the future”, insured- “intimidated”, colic- “syringes”, superman- "soup lover" blank- “stupid woman” banker- “sweeping bank”, solarium- “place of salt extraction.”

In pseudo-etymology, the main thing is to find in a given word a sound complex that would, to some extent, resemble the sound complexes of the root part of another word, similar to the first. It is the sound that is linked to the content. For example, martin- “woman in flippers.” Thus, pseudo-etymology is a deliberate misinterpretation of a word, which is based on the sound similarity of words having different meanings.

Task 6. “Pseudo-etymological dictionary”

Goal: compile your own “pseudo-etymological” dictionary.

Execution algorithm:

1. Look around you. Make a list of objects and phenomena that surround you. You can choose adjectives and verbs for them.
2. Try to look at the written words from a different, unusual point of view. Maybe rutabaga will turn into a pant leg for you, and a fork into a small country house.
3. Write down your definitions of objects. Choose the ones that are most successful and interesting from your point of view.
4. Write down the dictionary entries you have compiled in alphabetical order.
5. If you wish, you can format the resulting dictionary. Be creative when composing it. Maybe there will be illustrations in it?

Reflection on the task: write a miniature “Is it difficult to be a linguist?”

Stage 8

The word for us is the most important means of communication, a means of perceiving works of fiction. But the word is also of interest in itself: each word has its own origin, its own history, its own phonetic and morphological appearance, its own meaning. All the words we speak keep the secret of their birth. And it’s very interesting to solve it. And of course, you can’t do without a wide variety of literature - you’ll want to look into encyclopedias and dictionaries, open a geographical atlas, leaf through history books. You will have to reason, think logically, and compare. But the result is worth it. After all, etymology is a complete science unsolved mysteries, mysteries going back to the ancient past, and the persistent and inquisitive are sure to be discovered.

Etymology is a complex and multifaceted science. She always requires a creative approach. Here you cannot, having learned a few specific rules, wait for ready-made answers to all questions. In many cases, these answers do not yet exist and are yet to be discovered by future researchers.

Etymology is a science in which there is a place for discoveries and findings. For a long time it will attract those who are thoughtful about the word, interested in its history, and strive to understand and explain the changes that occur in it.

Task 7. Lesson reflection.

1. Remember the content of the lesson. Note which tasks were difficult for you, which were simple and uninteresting. Pick up epithets for each of the tasks.
2. At the beginning of the lesson, you formulated questions to which you would like to receive an answer. Mark the ones to which you received this answer. Are there any unanswered questions? Don't despair! After the lesson, we will choose a direction together and outline ways to find answers to your questions.
3. Remember your goals that you set at the beginning of the lesson. Which ones have you achieved? What helped you realize your goals? Maybe it was some kind of personal qualities? What else do you have to work on? Divide a sheet of paper into two halves. On the left, write down those skills and abilities that you, from your point of view, already possess, and on the right, those that you still lack. If there are entries on the right side of the sheet, it means you have something to strive for, which means there is a goal ahead! Good luck to you!

Over time, everything secret becomes clear, and the origin of Russian words gradually becomes accessible not only to the priesthood, but also to all those who begin to take an interest in their history. The depth and simplicity of the meaning of Russian words is amazing. We are accustomed to our words as something ordinary, natural and have completely stopped noticing the true meaning inherent in them.

Or maybe it’s not hidden at all, it lies on the surface, it’s just as if dust is lying on our consciousness, we don’t see what is obvious, and when suddenly something blows this dust away from our consciousness, then such amazing things are revealed as recently the meaning of the word “ Dinosaur».

This is how various dictionaries interpret this word “ An extinct reptile of the Mesozoic era that reached enormous sizes" Or Ushakov’s dictionary makes an attempt to understand where this word comes from. This is what they propose to believe - (from Greek. den- long ago and saura- lizard (paleon.)). An extinct reptile of enormous size.

Compare with what came to my mind and tell me whose version is more plausible?
Dinosaur– a wonderful saurus – a wonderful beast! And somehow it got by without the Latin alphabet. Why am I sure that my version is correct, because traces of humans and dinosaurs were found long ago in the same archaeological layer, this suggests that our ancestors saw dinosaurs and lived with them side by side. Accordingly, they could well call it that.

Read the origin of Russian words and be amazed

Word	Meaning
Rich	- one in whom there is a lot of God. I used to always be surprised that those who have a lot of money are called “rich” from the word “God”. But there is undoubtedly a connection between God and wealth, in the modern understanding. Those who have a lot of God in them, those who live according to his laws - they really do not need anything. Don't confuse them only with those people who go to church. Going to church and living according to God’s laws are, as they say in Odessa, two big differences”;
Poor	- those in whom there is little God will face trouble, which means they are poor;
Bogatyr	- everyone who listens to Mikhail Zadornov remembers that a hero is someone who pokes fun at God. “To poke” only today carries a negative meaning, previously its meaning was “to carry.”

This is where the words psalter come from - carries psalms, monastery - a place where monks serve.

The prefix “so” generally plays a huge role in the word formation of Russian words. Co is a designation for something together, that’s how it was born

Sun God Ra and the Slavs

With the word "Ar"We figured out that this is the earth, but there is an equally magical syllable - the word " Ra" Co school years we were told that in Egypt there was such a sun god, Ra.

It turns out that not only in Egypt. In scientific circles, although with difficulty, it is almost universally recognized that “Ra” means sunlight and the Slavs, no less than the Egyptians, revered the Sun God, or more precisely, the Sun God, that is, the Sun is one of the names of God, who was revered and which the Slavs worshiped.

The word “Ra” permeates Russia in many very important words for us, the meaning of which we do not hear in everyday life. Read now with new knowledge the long-known words:

What about the word Ra do not remember the origin of the word Russia. It turns out that the Volga River, which starts from the Valdai and Central Russian Uplands in the North and descends into the Caspian Sea in the South of Russia, was originally called Ra! A huge river practically divides the entire European part Russia in half. It is no wonder that the Russians have a huge layer of history associated with this river.

According to information from Wikipedia, the first known name of the Volga sounds like “Ra,” Herodotus wrote about this. The habitat (note, again “ar”), that is, the nearby lands around the river, this was called Ra-seya, that is, the radiance of light, the radiance of ra, the solar land.
About the fact that "ra" ig ra in our life a huge role is played by how much meaningful words has this syllable and in all these words the meaning of this syllable is clearly visible - light.
For example,
Faith- believe the light. Rather, even in this context, “ra” means the Almighty, that is, I believe in God. Remember what the bible says “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed and say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you" (Mt 17:20).

Despite the extremely negative attitude of many Slavophiles towards the Bible, I do not hesitate to quote from, because everywhere you can find the reasonable and eternal. And I don’t think it’s constructive to deny everything indiscriminately.
Let's continue

Culture	– a sack is something voluminous where you can put something. If it is “cult” formed, then it is confirmed by “t”, we get “cult”. If we have collected it and confirmed it with the primary fire of creation, then we get “culture”. The cult of Ra, the cult of the sun and real culture really bring light to the consciousness of people;
Temple	– storage of light;
Sedition	– mola – rumor to ra, i.e. turning to God, talking with God;
Mantra	- “mana” or “manas” in Sanskrit, mind, consciousness, that is, repetition of the mantra brightens the mind. There is another translation of this word, also associated with Sanskrit origin, where the word “mantra” is divided into “mana” and “tra” - tool, liberation, control. That is, a mantra is a tool with the help of which consciousness and mind are liberated;

Let's remember the lighting devices, surprisingly, there are plenty of " ra»
Chandelier, sconce, ramp, headlight. Whether it's a coincidence or not, it's a fact!

A less obvious light is visible in the words literature, literacy, satire, truth, era, paradise, aura, chakra, Kama Sutra.

Alexey from July 28, 2015 11:15 from July 28, 2015 11:29 Alexey from July 28, 2015 12:48 from July 28, 2015 21:25 Alexey from July 28, 2015 21:37 from July 28, 2015 21:40 Alexey from July 28, 2015 21:50 Dmitry from October 23, 2015 23:52 Valentina from November 7, 2015 23:42 Russian order. from November 8, 2015 00:19 from November 8, 2015 08:29 Nikolay from November 20, 2015 20:50 Andrey from January 15, 2016 15:00 from January 15, 2016 15:02 Andrey from January 15, 2016 18:28 Andrey from January 15, 2016 18:35 Andrey from January 16, 2016 11:58 Woodpecker-Gnawed-Duplo-In-the-Galaxy from October 1, 2016 00:05 from October 1, 2016 07:13 Mikhail from October 24, 2016 13:40 from October 24, 2016 21:46 Putilov from October 25, 2016 07:48 Etymologist from October 27, 2016 18:51 Alexey from October 28, 2016 10:14 from October 28, 2016 22:20 Georgy Novorossiysk from December 8, 2016 15:50 Georgy Novorossiysk from December 8, 2016 15:57 from 8 December 2016 20:41 Dmitry from December 9, 2016 07:44 from December 9, 2016 09:21 Dmitry from December 9, 2016 14:16 Dmitry from December 9, 2016 14:20 Dmitry from December 9, 2016 14:24 Dmitry from December 9, 2016 14 :28 from December 9, 2016 14:43 Georgy Novorossiysk from December 11, 2016 11:50 from December 11, 2016 14:55 Dmitry from December 12, 2016 07:20 Rostislav from December 15, 2016 13:29 rafail from December 28, 2016 16:08 Putilov from December 29, 2016 07:12 from December 29, 2016 09:28 rafail from December 29, 2016 20:16 rafail from December 29, 2016 20:21 rafail from December 29, 2016 20:25 Evgeniy from January 26, 2017 19:49 Ragaved from May 16 2017 01:24 Andrey Vorsov from May 18, 2017 06:29 Pavel from June 2, 2017 10:55 from June 2, 2017 11:32 Mikhail from June 2, 2017 11:43 Alexey from June 2, 2017 18:55 from June 2, 2017 21: 05 Putilov from June 3, 2017 07:30 Mikhail from July 22, 2017 01:48

We don’t often think about the origin of words and the change in their meaning over time. And words, by the way, are completely living beings. New words appear literally every day. Some of them do not stay in the language and are forgotten very quickly, others remain. The Word, like a living person, can tell us about its nationality, its parents and its origin.

1. Station

The word comes from the name of a small park and entertainment center near London, Vauxhall. Once Alexander I visited this place and loved it so much that he commissioned British engineers to build a small railway from St. Petersburg to his country residence. One of the stations on this section railway They called it “Vokzal”, and this name later became the Russian word for any sufficiently large railway station.

2. Bully

The word bully is also of English origin. According to the most common version, the surname Houlihan was borne by everyone in London, a well-known brawler who caused a lot of trouble to the police and residents of the city. The surname has become a common noun, characterizing a person who grossly violates public order, and the word is international.

3. Orange

Europeans knew nothing about oranges until the 16th century. Russians - even longer. But Dutch sailors brought these sweet, juicy orange balls from China and began trading them with their neighbors. Since there are no analogues to the name of this fruit European languages there was no such thing, they began to call it “apple from China.” In Dutch, “apple” is appel, and “Chinese” is sien, which means “orange.”

4. Doctor

In the old days they treated with various spells and spells. An ancient medicine man muttered over a sick man different words and sometimes fed her with decoctions of herbs. The word "doctor" is originally Slavic. It is formed from the word “vrati”, which means “to speak”, “to speak”. By the way, “to lie” comes from the same word, which for our ancestors also meant “to speak.”

5. Fraudster

IN Ancient Rus' money was carried in special wallets - purses. From the word “moshna” the word “swindler” is derived - “specialist” in thefts from moshons.

6. Restaurant

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

7. Shit

“Shit” - from the Proto-Slavic “govno”, which means “cow”. Originally it was associated only with cow patties. "Beef" - "large" cattle", hence "beef", "beef". By the way, from the same Indo-European root the English name for a cow is cow, and, accordingly, the shepherd of these cows is cowboy, and the popular American expression “fucking cowboy” is not accidental, but contains in itself a deep family connection the words that form it.

8. Heaven


One version says that Russian word“heaven” comes from “not, no” and “demon, demons” - literally a place free of evil/demons. But there is another interpretation, probably closer to the truth. In the majority Slavic languages There are words that sound similar to “sky,” and they most likely came from the Latin word for “cloud” (nebula).

9. Shales

The only manufacturer of rubber slippers in the Soviet Union was the Polymer plant, located in the city of Slantsy Leningrad region. Many buyers thought that the word “Slides” embossed on the soles was the name of the shoes. So it turned into a synonym for the word “slippers.”

10. Nonsense


French doctor Gali Mathieu treated his patients with jokes. Having gained incredible popularity, he stopped having time to visit patients in person and sent out his healing puns by mail. “Nonsense” has come to mean a healing joke, a pun.
Nowadays, this concept has a completely different meaning, but even at the end of the 17th century, it is unlikely that everyone was cured with the help of his jokes.

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 may have relatives, a rich pedigree, and, on the contrary, be orphans. A word can tell us about its nationality, its parents, its origin...

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 - especially 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 borne by a famous London brawler who caused a lot of trouble for city residents and the police. The surname has become a common noun, 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. Oranges don't grow here! And then Portuguese sailors brought these tasty orange balls from eastern countries. And they began to trade them with their neighbors. They, of course, asked: “Where do the apples come from?” - because we haven’t heard of oranges, but the shape of this fruit is similar to an apple. The traders answered honestly: “The apples are from China, Chinese!” The Dutch word for apple is appel, and the Chinese word for apple is sien.

Doctor

In the old days they treated with incantations, spells, and various whisperings. An ancient doctor, a healer, would say something like this to the patient: “Go away, disease, into the quicksand, into the dense forests...” And muttered various words over the sick person. Do you know how up to early XIX centuries called muttering, chatter? Muttering and chatter were then called lies. To mumble meant to lie. He who trumpets is a trumpeter, who weaves is a weaver, and whoever lies is a doctor.

Scammer

In Rus', swindlers were not called deceivers or thieves. This was the name of the craftsmen who made the purse, i.e. wallets.

Insect

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

To answer this question, you do not need to be an entomologist, that is, a scientist who studies insects, or a linguist. It’s enough to remember what these same insects look like. Do you remember? Animals with “notches” on their bodies are insects. By the way, pure tracing paper from the French insect - from the Latin insectum “notched, with notches (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 boogers - just right. Remember, from Chukovsky: “Little-legged goat-bug”...

Heaven

One theory is that the Russian word "heaven" comes from "ne, no" and "besa, demons" - literally a place free of evil/demons. However, another interpretation is probably closer to the truth. Most Slavic languages ​​have words similar to "sky", and they most likely originate from the Latin word for "cloud" (nebula).

Slates

In the Soviet Union, a famous manufacturer of rubber slippers was the Polymer plant in the city of Slantsy, Leningrad region. Many buyers believed that the word “Shales” embossed on the soles was the name of the shoes. Then 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 synonymous with the word just now and means “recently, one of these days, but I don’t remember which days.”

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 specific days that were already discussed. Something like this: on the second and third of February, someone met someone in a nearby forest, and on those same days, that is, the other day, that is, the other day, such and such happened in Paris...

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

Nonsense

At the end of the last century, the French doctor Gali Mathieu treated his patients with jokes. He gained such popularity that he did not have time for 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 nowadays this concept has a completely different meaning.

How did the words come about?

The origin of language is no less interesting riddle than the appearance of Homo sapiens himself. Moreover, what is surprising is not the fact that some simple forms of communication appeared at the level of individual sounds notifying about something, but modern language, or rather languages.

In this article we will look at the main theories of the origin of language.

Theories of the emergence of language

Theory of evolution

At first glance, the story of the emergence of the word as a person develops, his communication and social skills looks very plausible. That is why many linguistic researchers defend it. On the other hand, if you look at modern languages and their ancient “ancestors”, it becomes clear that over time the language did not become more complicated (which would be logical based on the theory of evolution), but became significantly simplified. And this already suggests that the approach is erroneous. In addition, scientists do not have a single version as to what the proto-language looked like - the very first, simple, symbolic one from which it began further development primary verbal communication skills.

​Derived from the sounds of the animal world

Proponents of this approach believe that as man develops, he becomes more attentive to the world around him. In particular, he began to adopt from animals the sounds with which they communicated with each other. Next, the person gradually improved the set of sounds he had, putting them into words and assigning meanings. However, biologists categorically disagree with this approach - they are convinced that the sounds of the animal world are necessary solely to convey emotions, but not any concepts, judgments, or conclusions. Therefore, the language of fauna representatives could not become the basis for the development of human language.

Theory of divine origin

This theory is based on the biblical vision of the emergence of the world. Having created man in his own image and likeness, God gave people, among other things, the opportunity to communicate with each other through language. This version, although it has the right to exist, is still critically perceived by the scientific world, which is prone to atheism.

Sudden appearance of tongue

This version tends to view language as a skill that a person has always had, but for some reason was discovered by him only after a certain time. However, if we rely on such a view, the following questions remain open: who exactly “downloaded” such a skill into a person; why people began to communicate with each other through language only after many centuries of evolution; why is the language of animals different from the language of humans - why was not a single language initially created for all living beings on Earth?

From the above it follows that the origin of the word remains a mystery to this day. However, linguists different countries They do everything possible to find out about the origin of words in their own languages ​​(including Russian). But this is a much more feasible task.

Etymology of the Russian word

The Russian language belongs to the Indo-European family, the Slavic group of languages. It contains both native Russian words (formed directly in the language at one or another stage of development) and borrowed words (from Greek, Turkic, Arabic and other languages), which came into the Russian language due to cultural, economic, political contacts of Russian people with other peoples.

In particular, the Russian language was replenished with many foreign words under Peter I thanks to the reforms he carried out, the development of navigation in Russia, and also in the 18th-19th centuries due to close contacts between Russia and France. Another important period of enrichment of the Russian language with new words occurs in the 20th-21st centuries (after the collapse of the USSR as a result of establishing ties with Europe and America).

The science of etymology studies the origin of words. As an example, let's tell you how the words "orange", "doctor" and "nonsense" came about:

• Orange. This citrus fruit was brought to Europe from China. The name was borrowed from the Dutch language, in which the fruit was designated as “appelsien” (“appel” - apple and “sien” - Chinese) - that is, “Chinese apple”. Later, the juicy orange fruit appeared in Russia. And in Europe the name changed to “orange”.
• Doctor. In the old days, healers who treated people, in addition to various medical devices and drugs, used spells that were cast over the patient in order to ward off illness from him. In the Old Church Slavonic language the word “vrati” was used - “to speak, to speak.” It was from him that the original Russian word “doctor” came.
• Nonsense. This word, which today means something meaningless and empty, previously had a different meaning. So, in the 17th century in France, a doctor named Gali Mathieu was well known - he was famous for his wonderful sense of humor. Believing that laughter promotes a speedy recovery, he tried in every possible way to make his patients laugh with witty jokes. Afterwards, he even began sending encouraging, humorous notes to patients directly by mail.