Obsolete words are a special group of words that, for one reason or another, are not used in modern speech. They are divided into two categories - historicisms and archaisms. Both of these groups are similar to each other, but still have several significant differences.
historicisms
These include words denoting special things, positions, phenomena that ceased to exist in modern world but have taken place before. An example of such words is boyar, governor, petitioner, estate. They do not have synonyms in the modern language, and you can find out their meaning only from the explanatory dictionary. Basically such obsolete words relate to the description of life, culture, economy, hierarchy, military and political relations of ancient years.
So, for example, a petition is: 1) a bow with a forehead touching the ground; or 2) a written request. Stolnik - a courtier who is one degree lower than a boyar, usually serving at a boyar or royal table.
Most of all, outdated historic words are found among the names associated with military theme, as well as those related to household items and clothing: chain mail, visor, redoubt, pishchal, valley, prosak, armyak, seed coat, camisole.
Here are some examples of sentences containing obsolete words. Petitioners came to the tsar and complained about the voivode, and said that they were taking away their estates, and then handing them out; the nobles, stewards and boyar children also complained that the voivodes were taking their palace villages. Cossacks with archers came to the tsar, carried petitions , asked for bread and money wages.
At present, one of the many groups of historicisms are those that arose during the formation of the USSR: food detachment, Budyonnovets, educational program, kombed, NEP, disfranchised, Nepman, Makhnovist, prodrazvyorstka.
Archaisms
Obsolete languages are divided into another large group - archaisms. They, in fact, are a subgroup of historicisms - they also include words that are out of use. But their main difference is that they can be replaced by synonyms, which are common and used today words. Here are the cheeks, the right hand, the loins, the verses, the tightness, the ramen. Accordingly, their modern counterparts are cheeks, right hand, lower back, poems, sadness, shoulders.
There are several basic differences between archaism and its synonym. They may differ:
a) lexical meaning(belly - life, guest - merchant);
b) grammatical design (at the ball - at the ball, perform - perform);
c) (fisherman - fisherman, friendship - friendship);
In order to correctly use archaism in a sentence and avoid confusion, use an explanatory dictionary or a dictionary of obsolete words.
And here are examples of sentences containing archaisms: “In Moscow, there lived okolnichi, boyars, clerks, whom Bolotnikov threatened to turn into commoners or kill, and put nameless people in their place; there were also industrialists and wealthy merchants, courts, money, whose shops “Everything was given to the poor.”
In this passage, the following words are archaisms: commoner, yard (in the meaning of the economy), shop (commercial enterprise), nameless. It is easy to see that there are also historicisms here: okolnichiy, boyar.
Obsolete words perfectly convey the characteristic historicity, make literary text colorful and bright. But for correct and appropriate use, you must always check with the explanatory dictionary so that flowery phrases do not eventually turn into nonsense.
Every person who wants to learn and develop, always strives to learn something new and useful for himself. Particularly important is vocabulary, which has not only become an indicator of erudition for a long time, but can also help in the most unexpected life situation. In this article, you will be able to learn about and historicism. and context can also be useful for especially inquisitive people to familiarize themselves with.
historicisms
Historicisms include the names of objects that were used by our ancestors, and today they are found only in museums. For example, the word "squeaker", which refers to an ancient type of weapon used in Russia several centuries ago. The word "axe", which denoted one of the types of combat accessories, also belongs to historicism. It was something similar to a modern ax, but with two blades.
How did historicisms appear?
The main reason that over time historicisms appeared in the language was the change in the habitual life of our ancestors, customs, the development of science and culture. So, for example, the disappeared types of clothing - armyak, caftan, camisole - were no longer used, and this led to the disappearance of their names from the language. Now such concepts can only be found in historical descriptions. There are many words that have ceased to be used, and now they are classified as "historicisms". An example of this is the concepts that in one way or another concerned serfdom in Russia. Among them - quitrent, corvée, tax.
Archaisms
This category includes words that denote things and concepts that still exist, but with changed names. For example, our ancestors instead of the modern "this" said "this", and "very" sounded like "green". Historicisms and which are found in many literary works, are not always completely replaced by other words, they can only partially change. For example, phonetically or morphologically.
How did archaisms appear?
This kind of obsolete words appeared due to the fact that over time any vocabulary undergoes changes, evolves and assimilates with other languages. Thus, some words are replaced by others, but with the same meaning. This is the part of the vocabulary that has outlived its own, but does not completely disappear from the language. These words are preserved in literature, documents, and so on. For creation, they are completely necessary so that you can recreate the flavor of the described era.
Phonetic archaisms
This type includes modern words and concepts that differ from the obsolete ones by just a few sounds, sometimes by just one. For example, such a word as “piit” can be attributed to phonetic archaisms, which eventually evolved into “poet”, and “fire” turned into “fire”.
Morphological archaisms
This category includes words that are outdated in their structure. These include the noun "ferocity" which became "fierce", the adjective "nervous" which evolved into "nervous", the verb "to collapse" which now sounds like "collapse" and many others.
Semantic archaisms
Archaisms and historicisms, examples of words found everywhere, often lose their true meaning over time. For example, the modern "shame" used to mean nothing more than "spectacle", and the old "ordinary" meant something that was done in one day (for example, "ordinary way"), and not at all "ordinary".
Modern usage
Sometimes these obsolete words change so much that they are used in a new sense. This can be said about both archaisms and historicisms. An example of this is the word "dynasty". Some time ago it stopped being used, but now it is back in use. If earlier it could only be combined with such words as "royal" and "monarchical", now the scope of its use has expanded significantly. Now you can hear about the dynasty of lumberjacks or miners, who imply that this profession is inherited from father to son. Sometimes obsolete words can be found in an ironic context.
Set expressions
Obsolete words continue to fully function in the language as a part. Thus, some historicisms have been preserved. Example: the word "buckles" is still used in the language as part of the phrase "beat the bucks", which means "to mess around". The same can be said about set expression"to sharpen the folly", that is, "to chat incessantly."
Degeneration VS Rebirth
It also happens that words that linguists have already boldly attributed to historicisms have come back into use due to the fact that the concepts they denoted have begun to be used again. This can also happen if something new has been created that is in some way similar to or related to an obsolete concept. Now such words hardly resemble historicisms. Example: charity evening, midshipman.
Conclusion
It should be noted that although all the above-mentioned obsolete words are, rather, a passive layer of vocabulary, they do not stop playing in it. important role. When reading the works of such eminent writers as Tolstoy, Dostoevsky or Mayakovsky, one can very often come across historicisms and archaisms, and in order to accurately understand the idea that the author wanted to convey, one must be aware of their meaning. Therefore, in case you come across an unfamiliar word, it is best to consult an authoritative dictionary.
booth– a temporary wooden building for theater and circus performances, which has become widespread at fairs and festivities. Often also a temporary light building for trading at fairs.
Pro farce having heard
Come and our wanderers
Listen, stare. (N.A. Nekrasov. To whom it is good to live in Russia).
baluster- to joke, joke; talk, tell something funny and funny.
He was much baluster,
He wore a red shirt
Cloth undershirt,
Lubricated boots... (N.A. Nekrasov. To whom it is good to live in Russia).
Barezh- made of barege - woolen, silk or cotton fabric of rare weaving.
What an esharp cousin gave me!
Oh! Yes, barege! (A.S. Griboyedov. Woe from Wit).
She was light barezhevoe dress. (I.S. Turgenev. Fathers and children).
Barin- 1. Nobleman, landowner, landowner.
A few years ago, in one of his estates, there lived an old Russian master, Kirilla Petrovich Troekurov. (A.S. Pushkin. Dubrovsky).
He was simple and kind master,
And where his ashes lie,
The headstone reads:
A humble sinner, Dmitry Larin... (A.S. Pushkin. Eugene Onegin).
2. Lord, owner, master.
I entered the billiard room, I saw a tall master, about thirty-five, with a long black mustache, in a dressing gown, with a cue in his hand and a pipe in his teeth. (A.S. Pushkin. Captain's daughter).
[Neschastvitsev:] Look, don't let it slip; I am Gennady Demyanich Gurmyzhsky, retired captain or major, as you please; in a word, I master and you are my lackey. (A.N. Ostrovsky. Forest).
Baron – title of nobility below the count; a person who has the title of barony - the lowest degree of titled nobility.
[Repetilov:] I served as a civilian then.
Baron von Klotz in methyl ministers,
And I -
To him as a son-in-law. (A.S. Griboyedov. Woe from Wit).
Barryshnik- the one who is engaged in resale for the sake of profit - profit, profit; reseller.
... Yes, and many possessions
For the hawkers went. (N.A. Nekrasov. To whom it is good to live in Russia).
Batalha- battle, battle, military action.
"Well? - said the commandant. - What's going on battle? Where is the enemy? (A.S. Pushkin. Captain's daughter).
Gazebo- the turret of the house, which offers a view of the surroundings.
... a river flowed out and meandered between the hills in the distance; on one of them, a green roof rose above the dense greenery of the grove and gazebo a huge stone house ... (A.S. Pushkin. Dubrovsky).
... he began to build a bridge, then a huge house with such a high Belvedere that you can even see Moscow from there and drink tea in the open air in the evening and talk about some pleasant subjects. (N.V. Gogol. Dead souls).
Ticket- paper currency; a receipt presented to the master's office for payment of money.
[Famusov:] Let's take tramps into the house and around tickets. (A.S. Griboyedov. Woe from Wit)
Boa- women's scarf, fur or feather bandage.
He is happy if she throws
Boa fluffy on the shoulder
Or touch hot
Her hands, or part
Before her is a motley regiment of liveries,
Or raise a handkerchief to her. (A.S. Pushkin. Eugene Onegin).
Almshouse- a charitable (private or public) institution for the care of the elderly or incapable of work.
Every house seemed to her longer than usual; white stone almshouse with narrow windows it stretched unbearably long... (N.V. Gogol. Dead Souls).
charitable establishments hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages.
[Mayor:] Without a doubt, a passing official will want to first of all inspect the charitable establishments- and therefore you make sure that everything is decent: the caps would be clean, and the sick would not look like blacksmiths, as they usually go about at home. (N.V. Gogol. Auditor).
Bolivar- Hat with high brim. By the name of Bolivar (Simon Bolivar) - the liberator of the South American colonies from the rule of Spain (born in Caracas on July 24, 1783, died in Santa Marta on December 17, 1830
While in the morning dress,
Wearing wide bolivar,
Onegin goes to the boulevard
And there he walks in the open ... (A.S. Pushkin. Eugene Onegin).
Boston- a type of commercial card game.
Neither the gossip of the world nor Boston,
Neither a sweet look, nor an immodest sigh,
Nothing touched him
He did not notice anything. (A.S. Pushkin. Eugene Onegin).
The consequence of this was that the governor made him [Chichikov] an invitation to come to him that same day at a house party, other officials, too, for their part, some for dinner, some for bostonchik who for a cup of tea. (N.V. Gogol. Dead souls).
Treads- boots with a high solid top, with a bell at the top and a popliteal notch.
He [the mayor:] is dressed as usual, in his uniform with buttonholes and over the knee boots with spurs. (N.V. Gogol. Auditor).
The police chief was, indeed, a miracle worker: as soon as he heard what was the matter, at that very moment he called to the quarterly, brisk fellow in varnished over the knee boots, and, it seems, he whispered only two words in his ear and added only: “You understand!” ... (N.V. Gogol. Dead Souls).
boyar- a large landowner who occupied important administrative and military positions in Russia until the beginning of the 18th century. Boyar - the wife of a boyar.
...BUT boyar Matvey Romodanovsky
He brought us a glass of foamy mdu,
BUT noblewoman his white-faced
Brought to us on a silver platter
The towel is new, embroidered with silk. (M.Yu. Lermontov. Song about the merchant Kalashnikov).
brany- military. Swearing (obsolete) - battle, battle.
Your horse is not afraid of dangerous labors;
He, sensing the master's will,
That meek stands under the arrows of enemies,
That rushes along abusive field ... (A.S. Pushkin. Song about the prophetic Oleg).
But only a little from the side
Expect war for you
Ile force raid swearing,
Or another uninvited misfortune. (A.S. Pushkin. The Golden Cockerel).
Breguet- chiming clock named after the manufacturer of such watches, the Parisian mechanic Breguet (or rather, Breguet) Abraham-Louis (1747–1823).
... Onegin goes to the boulevard
And there he walks in the open,
While awake breguet
Lunch will not ring for him. (A.S. Pushkin. Eugene Onegin).
Breter- a lover of dueling for any reason; bully.
It was Dolokhov, the Semyonov officer, a well-known player and breter. (L.N. Tolstoy. War and Peace).
Brigadier- a military rank of the 5th class, intermediate between an army colonel and a major general.
He was a simple and kind gentleman,
And where his ashes lie,
The headstone reads:
Humble sinner, Dmitry Larin,
Lord's servant and foreman,
Sim eats the world under the stone. (A.S. Pushkin. Eugene Onegin).
Shave foreheads- hand over the peasants as soldiers, usually forever.
She traveled to work
Salted mushrooms for the winter,
Managed expenses shaved foreheads,
I went to the bathhouse on Saturdays... (A.S. Pushkin. Eugene Onegin).
Chaise- a light semi-open wagon with a folding leather top.
In the morning, the Larins' house was guests
All full; whole families
Neighbors gathered in wagons,
In tents, in carts and in the sleigh. (A.S. Pushkin. Eugene Onegin).
AT chaise sat a gentleman, not handsome, but not bad-looking either, neither too fat nor too thin; one cannot say that he is old, but it is not so that he is too young either. (N.V. Gogol. Dead souls).
And before what rushed here
strollers, bricek triples ... (N.A. Nekrasov. Who should live well in Russia).
mesentery- frills on the collar of the shirt and the same frills on the chest.
... Civilians wear light blue ties, the military let them out from under the collar mesentery. (M.Yu. Lermontov. Hero of our time).
alarm clock- the city watchman, the lower police rank, who watched the order in the city and was in the booth.
He did not notice any of this, and then, when he came across alarm clock, who, placing his halberd beside him, shook tobacco from the horn onto his calloused fist, then only woke up a little, and then because the watchman said: "Why are you climbing ...". (N.V. Gogol. Overcoat).
After asking in detail alarm clock, where you can get closer, if necessary, to the cathedral, to government offices, to the governor, he [Chichikov] went to look at the river that flowed in the middle of the city ... (N.V. Gogol. Dead Souls).
Mace- a long stick with a spherical knob, which served as an accessory to the doorman's dress at the entrance to large institutions and private aristocratic houses of Tsarist Russia.
One porter is already looking like a generalissimo: a gilded mace, count's physiognomy. (N.V. Gogol. Dead souls).
Bulat– 1. Antique, hard and resilient steel for blades with a patterned surface.
My dagger shines with gold trim;
The blade is reliable, without blemish;
Bulat it is kept by a mysterious temper -
Legacy of the wary east. (M.Yu. Lermontov. Poet).
2. Sword, steel blade, edged weapons.
Our colonel was born with a grip:
Servant to the king, father to the soldiers...
Yes, sorry for him: smitten damask steel,
He sleeps in the damp earth. (M.Yu. Lermontov. Borodino).
Burnous- a spacious women's coat with wide sleeves.
Sonechka got up, put on a handkerchief, put on burnusik and left the apartment, and at the ninth hour and came back. (F.M. Dostoevsky. Crime and punishment).
We often meet obsolete words in classical literature. They are often given footnotes-explanations, since these words are not used in modern language, and many may not know their meaning.
Examples of obsolete words:
indus - even
lanita - cheeks
saryn - rabble, crowd
week - week
lying down - lazy
Obsolete words include archaisms and historicisms. These are words that are rarely used in lively modern speech or are found only in the literary works of writers of past centuries. Obsolete words can be attributed to the passive vocabulary of the modern Russian language.
Archaisms are characterized by the fact that, as a rule, they have synonyms in modern speech.
Examples of archaisms:
hand - palm,
vyya - neck;
belts - shoulders,
sail - sail,
piit - poet,
fisherman - fisherman,
mouth - lips.
Historicisms, as you can guess from the name of these words, are associated with a certain era in the history of the country and are the names of those objects that have already disappeared, and the word, as a reminder to posterity, remained in the literature, archival documents or periodicals of those years.
Here are some examples of obsolete words - historicisms:
kulak - a prosperous peasant in the 20-30s of the last century;
rabfak - working faculty;
workers' faculty, workers' faculty - students of the workers' faculty.
Among historicisms there are many ancient names of monetary units, measures of length and weight, names of objects and clothes, etc., for example:
mace, pood, verst, arshin, dime, student, barge hauler, policeman, coachman, tavern, etc.
Obsolete words are those words that, due to the time period, have gone out of the previously habitual active use, but they have been preserved in the passive dictionary and are more understandable to native speakers.
Among obsolete words, two types are distinguished as archaisms and historicisms.
For example, lanites - in Old Russian cheeks. Hand - palm. Dolu - down, down. Eyes - eyes. Chelo - forehead. Or an archaic appeal - dear sir :-). Virgo is a girl. There is such a word - zasupon - tuck / shirt /. Burned - hung out with someone. This is a folk speech, I heard the last two words from my grandmother / Smolensk region /.
To what has already been written by other authors, I can add that even the words used today can be considered obsolete if in former times they were used in other meanings than in the present. Such words are called semantic archaisms.
Archaisms.
Otrok is a teenage boy.
Otrokovitsa - a teenage girl.
Astrologer is an astrologer.
Actor - actor.
A creature is a living being.
Shame is a spectacle.
Vulgar - ordinary.
Domovina is a coffin.
Zolotar is a jeweler.
Hope - hope.
Dark - blind.
Crown - wreath.
Supper - dinner.
Vitya is a speaker.
This one is this one.
Rest - sleep.
Grad is a city.
Arap - Negro.
Innocent - innocent.
The lamb is the lamb.
The husband is a mature man.
Scoundrel - not fit for military service.
A brothel is a brothel.
The cloister is a monastery.
Historicisms.
Likbez, Berkovets, carriage, rattletrap, stagecoach, serf, October, pioneer, bast shoe, inquisition, posadnik, Komsomol, torch, archer.
The works of the classics of the 18th and 19th centuries are full of obsolete words. The meaning is not always clear.
The poet Pushkin has blueberries. An outdated word. So a nun.
He has to pay. The word is found in the conversation of old villagers. Bed for sleeping on the stove.
An obsolete word is used today.
OBSOLETE words, or ARCHAISMS, denote such objects, phenomena and concepts that have not disappeared from our modern life, but continue to exist in it, but under a different name. That is, they are denoted by modern words.
There are a lot of archaisms known. And they are listed in dictionaries.
Here is Ozhegov's dictionary in front of me. I open a page at random - and outdated words immediately come across: lanita- cheek; lapotnik- peasant; word hawker used in the meaning reseller and horse trader.
I close the dictionary. What can I remember?
This is not difficult to do if we recall some of the expressions and phrases of our famous classical writers. For example, A, P, Chekhov have this appeal: WISE secretary! That is wise.
From a poem by A.S. Pushkin Prophet Everyone knows the lines:
I think that to translate the highlighted obsolete words into modern language not worth it, because we all know them from the school curriculum.
Here are a few more outdated words: full - captivity; shelom - a helmet; footman - infantryman; tuga - longing, sadness; right hand - right hand; guard - watchman; finger - finger; existing - existing; thief - thief, robber, etc.
I repeat that there are a lot of archaisms, both primordially Russian, and Old Slavonic, and borrowed.
As part of this project it's just impossible to list them.
There are a lot of obsolete words (the so-called words that used to be used quite actively, but now they are rarely or not used at all in the meanings in which they used to be) in the Russian language. Because the process of obsolescence is constant. Such words are sometimes even subdivided into obsolete and obsolete.
Here is some of them:
Screen. Archaism. Many have now thought about screenshots, which are abbreviated as screenshotsquot ;. But it turns out that earlier they called small chests and packing. For example, if Dostoevsky lived not in the 190th century, but earlier, he would have called the old woman's casket (packing), from which Raskolnikov pulled out money and jewelry, a screen. From the word hide.
Chernitsa. Archaism. That's what the nuns were called. By the color of their clothes.
Belenkaya. Historicism. This substantiated adjective once meant a banknote with a face value of 25 rubles.
Cereal. archaic meaning. This word had a now obsolete meaning richquot ;, fertilequot ;. From the word cerealquot ;.
Asp - a poisonous snake, yell - plow, namale - soap, ahead of time - in advance, the largest - the elder, the spring - a well, the finger - a finger, get out - dress up, a hustochka - a handkerchief, nicoli - never, one - once.
Obsolete words are divided into historicisms and archaisms, we will give examples of both.
Historicisms:
county, boyar, volost, tsar, clerk, altyn.
Archaisms:
stomach is life
mirror - mirror,
hand - palm.
eye - eye,
cold - cold.
Read about the difference between these two groups of obsolete words.
Monetary units:
Altyn
From Tatarsk. Alty - six - old Russian counting currency unit.
Altyn - from the 17th century. - a coin consisting of six Moscow money.
Altyn - 3 kopecks (6 money).
Five-kopeck piece - 15 kopecks (30 money).
dime
- ten kopeck Russian coin, issued since 1701.
Two hryvnia - 20 kopecks
penny
- a small copper coin worth 2 kopecks, minted in Russia in the 17th century.
4 kopecks - twopenny.
money (denga)
- a small copper coin of 1/2 kopeck, minted in Russia from 1849 to 1867.
golden ruble
- the monetary unit of Russia from 1897 to 1914. The gold content of the ruble was 0.774 g of pure gold.
penny money
penny
- Russian monetary unit, from the 16th century. minted from silver, gold, copper. The name "penny" comes from the image on the back of the coin of a rider with a spear.
penny
- since 1704 Russian copper small change, 1/100 share of the ruble.
Poltina
Half a ruble
- Russian coin, 1/2 share of the ruble (50 kopecks). Since 1654, fifty kopecks have been minted from copper, since 1701 - from silver.
Polushka - 1/4 kopeck
Half a half - 1/8 penny.
Half-half (half-half) was minted only in 1700.
Ruble
- monetary unit of Russia. The regular minting of the silver ruble began in 1704. Copper and gold rubles were also minted. Since 1843, the ruble began to be issued in the form of a paper treasury bill.
"Old Russian Measures".
Monetary units:
Ruble \u003d 2 half a dozen
half = 50 kopecks
five-altyn = 15 kopecks
dime = 10 kopecks
Altyn = 3 kopecks
penny = 2 kopecks
2 money = 1/2 penny
polushka = 1/4 penny
In ancient Russia, foreign silver coins and silver bars - grivnas - were used.
If the goods cost less than a hryvnia, they cut it in half - these halves were called TIN or Ruble.
Over time, the words TIN were not used, they used the word Ruble, but half the ruble was called half-tin, a quarter - half-half-tin.
On silver coins, 50 kopecks were written COIN POL TINA.
ANCIENT NAME OF THE RUBLE -TIN.
Auxiliary measures of weight:
Pood = 40 pounds = 16.3804815 kg.
Bezmen - an old Russian unit of mass measurement, which was part of the Russian system of measures and was used in the north Russian Empire and in Siberia. 1 steelyard \u003d 1/16 pood or 1.022 kg.
Pound \u003d 32 lots \u003d 96 spools \u003d 0.45359237 kg.
(1 kg = 2.2046 lbs).
Lot = 3 spools = 12.797 grams.
Spool = 96 shares = 4.26575417 g.
Share - the smallest old Russian unit of mass
= 44.43 mg. = 0.04443 grams.
Auxiliary length measures:
A mile is 7 versts or 7.4676 km.
Verst - 500 fathoms or 1,066.781 meters
Sazhen \u003d 1/500 versts \u003d 3 arshins \u003d 12 spans \u003d 48 vershoks
A vershok = 1/48 fathoms = 1/16 arshins = 1/4 span = 1.75 inches = 4.445 cm = 44.45 mm. (Initially equal to the length of the main phalanx of the index finger).
Arshin = 1/3 fathoms = 4 spans = 16 inches = 28 inches = 0.7112 m.
Span \u003d 1/12 sazhens \u003d 1/4 arshin \u003d 4 inches \u003d 7 inches \u003d exactly 17.78 cm. (From the old Russian word "past" - palm, hand).
Elbow - a unit of length measurement that does not have a specific value and approximately corresponds to the distance from the elbow joint to the end of the outstretched middle finger.
Inch - in Russian and English systems of measures 1 inch = 10 lines ("big line"). The word inch was introduced into Russian by Peter I in the early XVIII century. Today, an inch is most often understood as an English inch, equal to 2.54 cm.
Foot - 12 inches = 304.8 mm.
Set expressions
Heard a mile away.
A mad dog seven miles is not a detour.
Dear friend, seven miles is not the outskirts.
Versta Kolomna.
Oblique fathom in the shoulders.
Measure everyone by your own arshin.
Swallow arshin.
Two inches from the pot.
One hundred pounds.
Seven spans in the forehead.
Small spool but precious.
Go by leaps and bounds.
Find out how much a pound is dashing.
Not an inch of land (do not yield).
Scrupulous person.
Eat a pood of salt (together with someone).
Standard SI prefixes
(SI - "International System" - international system of metric units)
Multiple prefixes SI
101 m decameter dam
102 m hectometer hm
103 m kilometer km
106 m megameter mm
109 m gigameter Gm
1012 m terameter Tm
1015 m petameter Pm
1018 m exameter Em
1021 m zettameter Sm
1024 m yottameter Im
SI prefixes
value name designation
10-1 g decigrams dg
10-2 g centigram sg
10-3 g milligram mg
10-6 g microgram mcg
10-9 g nanogram ng
10-12 g picograms pg
10-15 g femtograms fg
10-18 g attogram ag
10-21 g zeptograms zg
10-24 g yoctogram ig
Archaisms
Archaisms are obsolete names of objects and phenomena that have other, modern names.
Armenian - a type of clothing
vigil - wakefulness
timelessness - hard times
voiceless - timid
benevolence - benevolence
prosper - prosper
transitory - transitory
lofty - pompous
outrage - revolt
in vain - in vain
big - big
coming - coming
beef - cattle
messenger - sent
verb - word
herd - a herd of cattle.
threshing floor - a fenced plot of land in a peasant economy, intended for storage, threshing and other processing of grains of bread
in order to
down - down, down
drogi (drogi) - light four-wheeled open spring carriage for 1-2 people
if - if
belly - life
to sharpen - to conclude
mirror - mirror
zipun (semi-caftan) - in the old days - outerwear for peasants. It is a collarless caftan made of coarse homemade cloth in bright colors with seams trimmed with contrasting cords.
ancient - from a long time ago
eminent - high
which - which, which
katsaveyka - Russian women's folk clothing in the form of a swinging short sweater, lined or trimmed with fur.
Konka - a type of urban transport
sedition - treason
kuna - monetary unit
cheeks - cheeks
covetousness - bribery
kiss - kiss
catcher - hunter
lyudin - a person
honeyed - flattering
bribe - reward, payment
slander - denunciation
name - name
monastery - monastery
bed - bed
barn (ovn - furnace) - an outbuilding in which sheaves were dried before threshing.
one - the one mentioned above
vengeance - revenge
finger - finger
pyroscaphe - steamer
pishchal - a type of firearm
death - death
ruin - doom
obstruction - obstruction
open - open
military - combat
this - this
take off - take off
poet - poet
smerd - peasant
ram - an ancient tool for destroying fortress walls
thief - thief
dungeon - prison
marketplace, bazaar
prepare - prepare
hope - hope
mouth - lips
child - child
expect - expect
food - food
yahont - ruby
yarilo - sun
yara - spring
yarka - a young sheep born in spring
spring bread - spring crops are sown in spring
Archaisms in proverbs and sayings:
Beat the thumbs
To beat the buckets - initially cut the log lengthwise into several parts - a block, round them from the outside and hollow out from the inside. Spoons and other wooden utensils were made from such blocks - baklush. The preparation of buckwheat, in contrast to the manufacture of products from them, was considered easy, a simple matter that do not require special skills.
Hence the meaning - to do nothing, to mess around, to spend time idly.
Here you are, grandmother, and St. George's Day!
The expression came from time medieval Russia when the peasants had the right, having settled with the previous landowner, to move on to a new one.
According to the law issued by Ivan the Terrible, such a transition could take place only after the completion of agricultural work, and specifically a week before St. George's Day (November 25, according to the old style, when the Great Martyr George, the patron saint of farmers, was celebrated) or a week later.
After the death of Ivan the Terrible, such a transition was prohibited and the peasants were fixed to the land.
Then the expression "Here you are, grandmother, and St. George's Day" was born as an expression of chagrin due to changed circumstances, about unexpectedly unfulfilled hopes, sudden changes for the worse.
St. George was popularly called Yegoriy, therefore at the same time the word "cheat" arose, that is, to deceive, to cheat.
upside down
1) somersault, over the head, upside down;
2) upside down, in complete disarray.
The word torso can go back to the verb to stir up, that is, "pull, turn over." It is also assumed that tormashki comes from the dialect torma - "legs".
According to another hypothesis, the word torso is related to the word brake (old tormas). Tormas used to be called iron strips under the sleigh runner, used to make the sleigh roll less.
The expression upside down could refer to a sleigh overturned on ice or snow.
There is no truth at the feet - an invitation to sit down.
There are several possible origins for this saying:
1) according to the first version, the combination is due to the fact that in the XV-XVIII centuries. in Russia, debtors were severely punished, beaten with iron rods on their bare legs, seeking the repayment of the debt, that is, "truth", but such a punishment could not force those who had no money to return the debt;
2) according to the second version, the combination arose due to the fact that the landowner, having discovered the loss of something, gathered the peasants and forced them to stand until the culprit was named;
3) the third version reveals the connection of the expression with pravozh (cruel punishment for non-payment of debts). If the debtor fled from the right by flight, they said that there was no truth at the feet, that is, it was impossible to knock out the debt; with the abolition of the rule, the meaning of the saying has changed.
The rein (harness) fell under the tail - about someone who is in an unbalanced state, shows eccentricity, incomprehensible persistence.
The reins are harnesses for driving a harnessed horse. In a horse, under the tail, part of the croup is not covered with hair. If the reins get there, the horse, being afraid of tickling, can suffer, break the wagon, etc.
With this behavior of a horse, a person is compared.
Wolf ticket (wolf passport)
In the 19th century, the name of the document that closed access to public service, educational institution etc. Today phraseology is used in the meaning of a sharply negative characterization of someone's work.
The origin of this turnover is usually explained by the fact that a person who received such a document was not allowed to live in one place for more than 2-3 days and he had to wander like a wolf.
In addition, in many combinations, wolf means "abnormal, inhuman, bestial", which strengthens the opposition between the owner of the wolf ticket and other "normal" people.
Lying like a gray gelding
There are several options for the origin of phraseology.
1. The word gelding comes from the Mongolian morin "horse". AT historical monuments horse siv, gelding siv are very typical, the adjective gray "light gray, gray" shows the old age of the animal. The verb to lie had a different meaning in the past - "talk nonsense, idle talk; chatter." The gray gelding is here - gray-haired from long work a stallion, and figuratively - a man who is already talking from old age and carrying annoying nonsense.
2. Gelding - stallion, gray - old. The expression is explained by the usual boasting of old people about their own strength, as if still preserved, like among the young.
3. The turnover is associated with the attitude towards the gray horse as a stupid creature. Russian peasants avoided, for example, laying the first furrow on a gray gelding, because he "lied" - he was mistaken, laying it incorrectly.
Give oak - die
The turnover is associated with the verb zadubet - "to cool down, lose sensitivity, become hard." An oak coffin has always been a sign of special honor to the deceased. Peter I introduced a tax on oak coffins - as a luxury item.
Alive, bitch!
The origin of the expression is associated with the game "Smoking Room", popular in the 18th century in Russia at gatherings in winter evenings. The players sat in a circle and passed each other a burning torch, saying "Alive, alive, Smoking room, not dead, thin legs, short soul ...". The one whose torch went out, began to smoke, smoke, lost. Later, this game was replaced by "Burn, burn brightly so that it does not go out."
Nick down
In the old days, almost the entire population in Russian villages was illiterate. To account for the bread handed over to the landowner, the work done, etc., the so-called tags were used - wooden sticks up to a fathom (2 meters) long, on which notches were made with a knife. The tags were split into two parts so that the notches were on both: one remained with the employer, the other with the performer. The number of notches was calculated. Hence the expression "to cut down on the nose", meaning: to remember well, to take into account the future.
play spillikins
In the old days in Russia, the game of "spillikins" was common. It consisted in using a small hook to pull out, without hitting the rest, one of the other piles of all the spillikins - all kinds of small toy things: hatchets, glasses, baskets, kegs. This is how not only children, but also adults spent their time on long winter evenings.
Over time, the expression "playing spillikins" came to mean an empty pastime.
Bastard soup slurp
Bast shoes - woven shoes made of bast (the subcortical layer of lindens), covering only the soles of the feet - in Russia were the only affordable shoes for poor peasants, and cabbage soup - a kind of cabbage soup - was their simplest and favorite food. Depending on the wealth of the family and the time of year, cabbage soup could be either green, that is, with sorrel, or sour - from sauerkraut, with meat or lean - without meat, who ate during fasting or in case of extreme poverty.
About a person who could not earn his own boots and more refined food, they said that he "slurped cabbage soup", that is, he lives in terrible poverty and ignorance.
Fawn
The word "fawn" comes from German phrase"Ich liebe sie" (Ich liebe zi - I love you). Seeing insincerity in the frequent repetition of this "swan zi", the Russian people wittily formed from these German words Russian word“To fawn” means to curry favor, to flatter someone, to seek someone’s favor with flattery.
Fishing in troubled waters
Since ancient times, one of the prohibited ways of catching fish, especially during spawning, is stunning it. There is a well-known fable of the ancient Greek poet Aesop about a fisherman who muddied the water around the nets, driving a blinded fish into it. Then the expression went beyond fishing and acquired a broader meaning - to benefit from an unclear situation.
The proverb is also known: "Before catching fish, [you need] to muddy the water", that is, "deliberately create confusion for profit."
Small fry
The expression came from peasant use. In the Russian northern lands, a plow is a peasant community from 3 to 60 households. A small fry was called a very poor community, and then its poor inhabitants. Later, officials who occupy a low position in the state structure began to be called small fry.
The thief's hat is on fire
The expression goes back to an old anecdote about how they found a thief in the market.
After vain attempts to find the thief, people turned to the sorcerer for help; he shouted loudly: "Look! The thief's hat is on fire!" And suddenly everyone saw how a man grabbed his hat. So the thief was discovered and convicted.
Soap your head
The tsarist soldier in the old days served indefinitely - until death or until complete disability. Since 1793, a 25-year term has been introduced military service. The landowner had the right to send his serfs to soldiers for a fault. Since the recruits (recruits) shaved off their hair and said about them: “shaved”, “shaved their forehead”, “soaped their heads”, the expression “I will lather my head” became a synonym for threat in the lips of the rulers. AT figurative meaning“To lather your head” means: to make a severe reprimand, to strongly scold.
Neither fish nor fowl
In Western and Central Europe of the 16th century, a new trend appeared in Christianity - Protestantism (lat. "protest, object"). Protestants, unlike Catholics, opposed the Pope, denied holy angels, monasticism, arguing that every person himself can turn to God. Their rituals were simple and inexpensive. There was a bitter struggle between Catholics and Protestants. Some of them, in accordance with Christian precepts, ate modest - meat, others preferred lean - fish. If a person did not adjoin any movement, then he was contemptuously called "neither fish nor fowl." Over time, they began to talk like that about a person who does not have a clearly defined life position incapable of active, independent action.
Nowhere to put samples - disapprovingly about a depraved woman.
An expression based on a comparison with a golden thing passing from one owner to another. Each new owner demanded to check the product with a jeweler and put a test. When the product was in many hands, there was no more room for a sample on it.
Not by washing, so by skating
Before the invention of electricity, a heavy cast-iron iron was heated over a fire and, until it cooled down, they ironed linen with it. But this process was difficult and required a certain skill, so the linen was often "rolled". To do this, washed and almost dried linen was fixed on a special rolling pin - a round piece of wood like the one that is currently being rolled out. Then, with the help of a rubel - a curved corrugated board with a handle - the rolling pin, together with the linen wound around it, was rolled along a wide flat board. At the same time, the fabric was stretched and straightened. Professional laundresses knew that well-rolled linen looked fresher, even if it didn't go well.
So the expression "not by washing, so by rolling" appeared, that is, to achieve results not in one way, but in another way.
Not a feather or a feather - a wish for good luck in anything.
The expression was originally used as a “spell” designed to deceive evil spirits (this expression was admonished to those who went hunting; it was believed that a direct wish for good luck could “jinx” the prey).
The answer is "To hell!" was supposed to further secure the hunter. To hell - this is not a curse like "Go to hell!", But a request to go to hell and tell him about it (so that the hunter does not get any fluff or feathers). Then the unclean will do the opposite, and it will be what is needed: the hunter will return "with down and feather", that is, with prey.
Forge swords into plowshares
The expression goes back to the Old Testament, where it is said that "the time will come when the peoples will beat swords plowshares and spears into sickles: the people will not raise the sword against the people, and they will no longer learn to fight."
In the Old Slavonic language, "ploughshare" is a tool for cultivating the land, something like a plow. The dream of establishing universal peace is figuratively expressed in sculpture Soviet sculptor E.V. Vuchetich, depicting a blacksmith forging a sword into a plow, which is installed in front of the UN building in New York.
Goof
Prosak is a drum with teeth in the machine, with which the wool was carded. To fall into a hole meant to be crippled, to lose an arm. Get into trouble - get into trouble, in an awkward position.
Knock off pantalik
Confuse, confuse.
Pantalik - a distorted Pantelik, a mountain in Attica (Greece) with a stalactite cave and grottoes in which it was easy to get lost.
straw widow
A bundle of straw among Russians, Germans and a number of other peoples served as a symbol of a concluded agreement: marriage or sale. To break the straw meant to break the contract, to disperse. There was also a custom to make a bed for newlyweds on rye sheaves. From straw flowers weaved wedding wreaths. A wreath (from the Sanskrit word "vene" - "bundle", meaning a bunch of hair) was a symbol of marriage.
If the husband left somewhere for a long time, then they said that the woman remained with one straw, so the expression "straw widow" appeared.
dance from the stove
The expression became popular thanks to the Russian novel writer XIX century V.A. Sleptsova " Good man». Main character novel "Non-serving nobleman" Sergei Terebenev returns to Russia after long wanderings in Europe. He recalls how he was taught to dance as a child. Serezha started all his movements from the stove, and if he made a mistake, the teacher told him: "Well, go to the stove, start over." Terebenev realized that his life circle was closed: he started from the village, then Moscow, Europe, and, having reached the edge, he again returns to the village, to the stove.
Grated roll
In Russia, kalach is wheat bread in the shape of a castle with a bow. Grated kalach was baked from tough kalach dough, which was kneaded and rubbed for a long time. Hence the proverb "Do not grate, do not mint, there will be no kalach", which in figuratively means: "a person's troubles teach." And the words "grated kalach" became winged - this is how they say about an experienced person who has seen a lot, who "rubbed between people" a lot.
pull the gimp
Gimp - a very thin, flattened, twisted gold or silver wire used for embroidery. Making a gimp consists in pulling it out. This manual work is tedious and time consuming. Therefore, the expression "pull the rigmarole" (or "raise the rigmarole") in a figurative sense began to mean: to do something monotonous, tedious, causing an unfortunate loss of time.
In the middle of nowhere
In ancient times, glades in dense forests were called kuligs. The pagans considered them bewitched. Later people settled deep into the forest, looked for kuligi, settled there with the whole family. This is where the expression came from: in the middle of nowhere, that is, very far away.
Too
AT Slavic mythology Chur or Shchur - ancestor, ancestor, god of the hearth - brownie.
Initially, "chur" meant: limit, border.
Hence the exclamation: "Chur", meaning the prohibition to touch something, to go beyond some line, beyond some limit (in spells against " evil spirits”, in games, etc.), a requirement to comply with some condition, an agreement.
From the word "mind" the word "too" was born, meaning: go over the "mind", go beyond the limit. “Too much” means too much, excessively, excessively.
Sherochka with a masher
Until the 18th century, women were educated at home. In 1764, the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens was opened in St. Petersburg at the Resurrection Smolny Convent. The daughters of the nobles studied there from 6 to 18 years old. The subjects of study were the law of God, French, arithmetic, drawing, history, geography, literature, dancing, music, different kinds home economics, as well as objects of "secular treatment". The common address of institute girls to each other was the French ma chere. From these French words Russian words "sherochka" and "masherochka" appeared, which are currently used to name a couple consisting of two women.
trump
AT ancient Russia boyars, unlike commoners, sewed a collar embroidered with silver, gold and pearls, which was called a trump card, to the collar of the front caftan. The trump card stuck up imposingly, giving the boyars a proud posture. Walking as a trump card is important to walk, and trump card is to brag about something.