Russian ancient words with translation. Old Russian words and their meanings. Examples of Old Russian words. What are old words
- Wolf ticket (wolf passport)
In the 19th century, the name of a document that blocked access to the civil service, educational institution, etc. Today, the phraseological unit is used to mean a sharply negative characteristic of someone’s work.
The origin of this turnover is usually explained by the fact that the person who received such a document was not allowed to live in one place for more than 2-3 days and had to wander like a wolf.
In addition, in many combinations, wolf means “abnormal, inhuman, bestial,” which strengthens the contrast between the holder of the wolf card and other “normal” people. - Lies like a gray gelding
There are several options for the origin of phraseological units.
1. The word gelding comes from the Mongolian morin "horse". In historical monuments, the horse siv and gelding siv are very typical; the adjective sivy “light gray, gray-haired” shows the old age of the animal. The verb to lie had a different meaning in the past - “to talk nonsense, talk idle talk; chatter.” The gray gelding here is a stallion that has turned gray from long work, and figuratively - a man who is already talking from old age and talking annoying nonsense.
2. Gelding is a stallion, gray is old. The expression is explained by the usual boasting of old people about their strength, as if still preserved, like that of 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 was “lying” - he was wrong, laying it incorrectly. - Give oak- die
The phrase is associated with the verb zudubet - “to cool down, lose sensitivity, become hard.” An oak coffin has always been a sign of special honor for the deceased. Peter I introduced a tax on oak coffins as a luxury item. - Alive, smoking room!
The origin of the expression is associated with the game "Smoking Room", popular in the 18th century in Russia at gatherings on winter evenings. The players sat in a circle and passed a burning torch to each other, saying “Alive, alive, Smoking Room, not dead, thin legs, short soul...”. The loser was the one whose torch went out and began to smoke or smoke. Later this game was replaced by "Burn, burn clearly so that it does not go out." - Nick down
In the old days, almost the entire population in Russian villages was illiterate. To record the bread handed over to the landowner, the work performed, etc., so-called tags were used - wooden sticks up to a fathom long (2 meters), on which notches were made with a knife. The tags were split into two parts so that the marks were on both: one remained with the employer, the other with the performer. The calculation was made based on the number of notches. Hence the expression “notch on the nose,” meaning: remember well, take into account for the future. - Play spillikins
In the old days, the game of “spillikins” was common in Rus'. It consisted of using a small hook to pull out, without touching the others, one from another pile all the spillikins - all kinds of small toy things: hatchets, glasses, baskets, barrels. This is how not only children, but also adults spent time on long winter evenings.
Over time, the expression “playing spillikins” began to mean an empty pastime. - Latem cabbage soup to slurp
Lapti - woven shoes made of bast (the subcortical layer of linden trees), covering only the sole of the foot - in Rus' were the only affordable footwear for poor peasants, and shchi - a type 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 - made from sauerkraut, with meat, or lean - without meat, which was eaten during fasting or in cases of extreme poverty.
About a person who could not earn enough to buy boots and more refined food, they said that he “slurps on cabbage soup,” that is, he lives in terrible poverty and ignorance. - Fawn
The word “fawn” comes from the German phrase “Ich liebe sie” (I love you). Seeing the insincerity in the frequent repetition of this “swan”, Russian people wittily formed from these German words the Russian word “fawn” - it means to curry favor, to flatter someone, to achieve someone’s favor or favor with flattery. - Fishing in troubled waters
Stunning has long been one of the prohibited methods of catching fish, especially during spawning. There is a well-known fable by the ancient Greek poet Aesop about a fisherman who muddied the water around his nets, driving blinded fish into them. Then the expression went beyond fishing and acquired a broader meaning - to take advantage of an unclear situation.
There is also a well-known proverb: “Before you catch a fish, you [need] to muddy the waters,” that is, “deliberately create confusion for profit.” - Small fry
The expression came from peasant everyday life. In the Russian northern lands, a plow is a peasant community of 3 to 60 households. And small fry called a very poor community, and then its poor inhabitants. Later, officials occupying a low position in the government structure also began to be called small fry. - The thief's hat is on fire
The expression goes back to an old joke about how a thief was found in the market.
After futile 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. - Lather your head
In the old days, a tsarist soldier served indefinitely - until death or complete disability. Since 1793, a 25-year period of military service was introduced. The landowner had the right to give his serfs as soldiers for misconduct. Since recruits (recruits) had their hair shaved off and were referred to as “shaved”, “shaved their forehead”, “soaped their head”, the expression “I’ll soap my head” became synonymous with threat in the mouths of the rulers. In a figurative sense, “soap your head” means: to give a severe reprimand, to strongly scold. - Neither fish nor fowl
In Western and Central Europe of the 16th century, a new movement appeared in Christianity - Protestantism (lat. “to protest, object”). Protestants, unlike Catholics, opposed the Pope, denied holy angels and monasticism, arguing that each 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 commandments, ate modest meat, others preferred lean fish. If a person did not join any movement, then he was contemptuously called “neither fish nor fowl.” Over time, they began to talk about a person who does not have a clearly defined position in life, who is not capable of active, independent actions. - There is no place 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 that the product be checked by a jeweler and tested. When the product had been in many hands, there was no longer any room left for testing. - If we don't wash, we'll just ride
Before the invention of electricity, a heavy cast iron iron was heated over a fire and, until it cooled down, they ironed clothes 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 laundry was fixed on a special rolling pin - a round piece of wood similar to the one used to roll out dough nowadays. Then, using a ruble - a curved corrugated board with a handle - the rolling pin, along with the laundry wound onto 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 has a fresher appearance, even if the washing was not entirely successful.
This is how the expression “by washing, by rolling” appeared, that is, to achieve results in more than one way. - Break a leg- wishing good luck in something.
The expression was originally used as a “spell” designed to deceive evil spirits (this expression was used to admonish those going on a hunt; it was believed that with a direct wish for good luck one could “jinx” the prey).
Answer "To hell!" should have further protected the hunter. To hell - this is not an expletive 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 feather). Then the unclean one will do the opposite, and what is needed will happen: the hunter will return “with down and feathers,” that is, with prey. - Let's beat swords into ploughshares
The expression goes back to the Old Testament, where it is said that “the time will come when the nations will beat swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up sword against nation, and they will no longer learn to fight.”
In the Old Church Slavonic language, “ploughshare” is a tool for cultivating land, something like a plow. The dream of establishing universal peace is figuratively expressed in the sculpture of the 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 a machine, with the help of which wool was carded. Getting into trouble meant being maimed and losing an arm. To get into trouble is to get into trouble, into an awkward position. - Knock you down
Confuse, confuse.
Pantalik is a distorted version of Pantelik, a mountain in Attica (Greece) with a stalactite cave and grottoes in which it was easy to get lost. - Straw Widow
Among the Russians, Germans and a number of other peoples, a bundle of straw served as a symbol of a concluded agreement: marriage or purchase and sale. To break the straw meant to break the contract, to separate. There was also a custom of making the newlyweds’ bed on sheaves of rye. Wedding wreaths were also woven from straw flowers. A wreath (from the Sanskrit word “vene” - “bundle”, meaning a bundle of hair) was a symbol of marriage.
If the husband left somewhere for a long time, they said that the woman was left with nothing but straw, which is how the expression “straw widow” appeared. - Dance from the stove
The expression became popular thanks to the novel by the 19th century Russian writer V.A. Sleptsov "A Good Man". The main character of the novel, "non-employee nobleman" Sergei Terebenev, returns to Russia after long wanderings around Europe. He remembers how he was taught to dance as a child. Seryozha 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 had closed: he started from the village, then Moscow, Europe, and, having reached the edge, he again returned to the village, to the stove. - Grated kalach
In Rus', kalach is wheat bread in the shape of a castle with a bow. Grated kalach was baked from hard kalach dough, which was kneaded and grated for a long time. This is where the proverb “Don’t grate, don’t crush, don’t make kalach” came from, which in a figurative sense means: “troubles teach a person.” And the words “grated kalach” have become popular - this is what they say about an experienced person who has seen a lot, who has “rubbed between people” a lot. - Pull the gimp
Gimp is a very thin, flattened, twisted gold or silver wire used for embroidery. Making gimp consists of pulling it out. This work, done manually, is tedious, monotonous and time-consuming. Therefore, the expression “pull the gimp” (or “spread the gimp”) in a figurative sense began to mean: to do something monotonous, tedious, causing an annoying loss of time. - In the middle of nowhere
In ancient times, clearings in dense forests were called kuligs. The pagans considered them bewitched. Later, people settled deep into the forest, looked for swarms, and settled there with their whole family. This is where the expression comes from: in the middle of nowhere, that is, very far away. - Too
In Slavic mythology, Chur or Shchur is the ancestor, ancestor, god of the hearth - the brownie.
Initially, “chur” meant: limit, border.
Hence the exclamation: “chur,” meaning a prohibition to touch something, to cross some line, beyond some limit (in spells against “evil spirits,” in games, etc.), a requirement to comply with some condition , agreement
From the word “too much” the word “too much” was born, meaning: to go beyond “too much”, to go beyond the limit. “Too much” means too much, too much, too much. - Sherochka with a masherochka
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 nobles studied there from the ages of 6 to 18. The subjects of study were the law of God, the French language, arithmetic, drawing, history, geography, literature, dancing, music, various types of home economics, as well as subjects of “secular manners”. The usual address of college girls to each other was the French ma chere. From these French words came the Russian words “sherochka” and “masherochka”, which are currently used to name a couple consisting of two women. - Walk trump
In ancient Rus', boyars, unlike commoners, sewed a collar embroidered with silver, gold and pearls, which was called a trump card, to the collar of their ceremonial caftan. The trump card stuck out impressively, giving the boyars a proud posture. Walking as a trump card means walking is important, but trumping means showing off something.
Currency:
Altyn
From Tatar Alty - six - an ancient Russian monetary unit.
Altyn - from the 17th century. - a coin consisting of six Moscow money.
Altyn - 3 kopecks (6 money).
Five-alty ruble - 15 kopecks (30 money).
Dime
- Russian ten-kopeck coin, issued since 1701.
Two hryvnia - 20 kopecks
Grosh
- a small copper coin in denomination of 2 kopecks, minted in Russia in the 17th century.
4 kopecks is two pennies.
Money (denga)
- a small copper coin of 1/2 kopeck, minted in Russia from 1849 to 1867.
Gold ruble
- monetary unit of Russia from 1897 to 1914. The gold content of the ruble was 0.774 g of pure gold.
Kopeck money
Kopek
- Russian monetary unit, from the 16th century. minted from silver, gold, copper. The name “kopeck” comes from the image on the reverse of the coin of a horseman with a spear.
Kopek
- since 1704, Russian copper small change, 1/100th of a ruble.
Poltina
Half a ruble
- Russian coin, 1/2 share of a 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 kopeck.
The half-polushka (polpolushka) was minted only in 1700.
Ruble
- monetary unit of Russia. 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 note.
"Ancient Russian measures."
Currency:
Ruble = 2 half rubles
half = 50 kopecks
five-altyn = 15 kopecks
kryvennik = 10 kopecks
altyn = 3 kopecks
penny = 2 kopecks
2 money = 1/2 kopeck
half = 1/4 kopeck
In Ancient Rus', foreign silver coins and silver bars - hryvnias - were used.
If the product cost less than a hryvnia, it was cut in half - these halves were called TIN or Ruble.
Over time, the word TIN was not used, the word Ruble was used, but half a ruble was called half-tina, a quarter - half-half-tina.
On silver coins of 50 kopecks they wrote COIN POLE TINA.
THE ANCIENT NAME OF THE RUBLE IS TIN.
Auxiliary weights:
Pud = 40 pounds = 16.3804815 kg.
The steelyard is an ancient Russian unit of measurement of mass, which was part of the Russian system of measures and was used in the north of the Russian Empire and in Siberia. 1 steelyard = 1/16 pood or 1.022 kg.
Pound = 32 lots = 96 spools = 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 measurement
= 44.43 mg. = 0.04443 grams.
Auxiliary measures are long:
A mile is 7 versts or 7.4676 km.
Versta - 500 fathoms or 1,066.781 meters
Fathom = 1/500 verst = 3 arshins = 12 spans = 48 vershoks
Vershok = 1/48 fathoms = 1/16 arshin = 1/4 span = 1.75 inches = 4.445 cm = 44.45 mm. (Originally equal to the length of the main phalanx of the index finger).
Arshin = 1/3 fathoms = 4 spans = 16 vershok = 28 inches = 0.7112 m. On June 4, 1899, the “Regulations on Weights and Measures” arshin was legalized in Russia as the main measure of length.
Pyad = 1/12 fathoms = 1/4 arshin = 4 vershkas = 7 inches = exactly 17.78 cm. (From the old Russian word “metacarpus” - palm, hand).
Elbow is a unit of measurement of length that does not have a specific value and approximately corresponds to the distance from the elbow joint to the end of the extended middle finger.
Inch - in Russian and English systems of measures 1 inch = 10 lines (“big line”). The word inch was introduced into the Russian language by Peter I at the very beginning of the 18th 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
You can hear it a mile away.
Seven miles is no detour for a mad dog.
Seven miles is not a suburb for my dear friend.
Versta Kolomenskaya.
Oblique fathoms in the shoulders.
Measure everyone to your own yardstick.
Swallow a yard.
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 worth.
Not an inch of land (not to be given up).
A meticulous person.
Eat a peck of salt (with someone else).
Standard SI prefixes
(SI - "System International" - international system of metric units of measurement)
Multiple SI prefixes
101 m decameter dam
102 m hectometer um
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 Zm
1024 m yottameter Im
SI prefixes
value name designation
10-1 g decigram dg
10-2 g centigrams g
10-3 g milligram mg
10-6 g microgram mcg
10-9 g nanogram ng
10-12 g picogram pg
10-15 g femtogram fg
10-18 g attograms ag
10-21 g zeptograms zg
10-24 g yoktogram ig
Archaisms
Archaisms are outdated names of objects and phenomena that have other, modern names
Armyak - type of clothing
vigil - wakefulness
timelessness - hard time
silent - timid
benevolence - goodwill
prosper - prosper
perishable - transitory
eloquent - pompous
indignation - rebellion
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 on a peasant farm, intended for storing, threshing and other processing of grain grains
so that - so that
down - down, down
drogi (drogi) - a light four-wheeled open spring carriage for 1-2 people
if - if
belly - life
imprison - imprison
mirror - mirror
zipun (half-kaftan) - in the old days - outerwear for peasants. It is a collarless caftan made from coarse homemade cloth in bright colors with seams trimmed with contrasting cords.
from ancient times - from ancient times
eminent - tall
which - which, which
katsaveyka - Russian women's folk clothing in the form of an open short jacket, lined or trimmed with fur.
horse-drawn horse - a type of urban transport
sedition - treason
kuna - monetary unit
cheeks - cheeks
extortion - bribery
kissing - kiss
catcher - hunter
lyudin - person
honeyed - flattering
bribe - reward, payment
slander - denunciation
name - name
monastery - monastery
bed - bed
barn (ovn - oven) - an outbuilding in which sheaves were dried before threshing.
this one - the one mentioned above
revenge - revenge
finger - finger
pyroscaphe - steamship
arquebus - a type of firearm
death - death
destruction - death
obstacle - obstacle
gaping - open
military - combat
this - this
seduce - remove
poet - poet
smerd - peasant
battering ram - an ancient weapon for destroying fortress walls
thief
dungeon - prison
bargaining - market, bazaar
prepare - prepare
hope - hope
mouth - lips
child - child
expect - expect
dish - food
Yakhont - ruby
Yarilo - sun
yara - spring
Yarka - a young lamb born in the spring
spring bread - spring grains are sown in spring
Archaisms in proverbs and sayings:
Beat your head
To beat the backs - initially cut the log lengthwise into several parts - the block, round them from the outside and hollow them out from the inside. Spoons and other wooden utensils were made from such scaffolds - baclush. Preparing buckeyes, in contrast to making products from them, was considered an easy, simple matter that did not require special skills.
Hence the meaning - to do nothing, to idle, to spend time idly.
Here's to you, grandma, and St. George's Day!
The expression comes from the time of medieval Rus', when 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 occur only after the completion of agricultural work, and specifically a week before St. George’s Day (November 25, old style, when the day of 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 secured to the land.
That’s when the expression “Here’s St. George’s Day for you, grandma,” was born as an expression of grief over changed circumstances, unexpectedly unfulfilled hopes, sudden changes for the worse.
St. George was popularly called Yegor, so at the same time the word “to cheat” arose, that is, to deceive, to deceive.
Upside down
1) somersault, over the head, upside down;
2) upside down, in complete disorder.
The word tormashki can go back to the verb to bother, i.e. “to fiddle with, turn over.” It is also assumed that tormashki comes from the dialect torma - “legs”.
According to another hypothesis, the word tormashki is related to the word brake (old tormas). Tormas used to be called iron strips under the runner of a sleigh, used to make the sleigh roll less.
The expression upside down could refer to a sled turned over on ice or snow.
There is no truth at the feet - an invitation to sit down.
There are several possible origins of this saying:
1) according to the first version, the combination is due to the fact that in the XV-XVIII centuries. in Rus', debtors were severely punished, beaten with iron rods on their bare legs, seeking repayment of the debt, i.e., “truth,” but such punishment could not force those who did not have money to repay the debt;
2) according to the second version, the combination arose due to the fact that the landowner, having discovered that something was missing, gathered the peasants and forced them to stand until the culprit was named;
3) the third version reveals a connection between the expression and pravezh (cruel punishment for non-payment of debts). If the debtor fled from the law, they said that there was no truth at his feet, that is, it was impossible to get out of the debt; With the abolition of the law, the meaning of the saying changed.
The rein (harness) has fallen under the tail - about someone who is in an unbalanced state, displays eccentricity, incomprehensible persistence.
Reins are straps for controlling a harnessed horse. The part of the horse's croup under the tail is not covered with hair. If the rein gets there, the horse, fearing tickling, may run away, break the cart, etc.
A person is compared to this behavior of a horse.
Wolf ticket (wolf passport)
In the 19th century, the name of a document that blocked access to the civil service, educational institution, etc. Today, the phraseological unit is used to mean a sharply negative characteristic of someone’s work.
The origin of this turnover is usually explained by the fact that the person who received such a document was not allowed to live in one place for more than 2-3 days and had to wander like a wolf.
In addition, in many combinations, wolf means “abnormal, inhuman, bestial,” which strengthens the contrast between the holder of the wolf card and other “normal” people.
Lies like a gray gelding
There are several options for the origin of phraseological units.
1. The word gelding comes from the Mongolian morin "horse". In historical monuments, the horse siv and gelding siv are very typical; the adjective sivy “light gray, gray-haired” shows the old age of the animal. The verb to lie had a different meaning in the past - “to talk nonsense, talk idle talk; chatter.” The gray gelding here is a stallion that has turned gray from long work, and figuratively - a man who is already talking from old age and talking annoying nonsense.
2. Gelding is a stallion, gray is old. The expression is explained by the usual boasting of old people about their strength, as if still preserved, like that of 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 was “lying” - he was wrong, laying it incorrectly.
Give oak - die
The phrase is associated with the verb zudubet - “to cool down, lose sensitivity, become hard.” An oak coffin has always been a sign of special honor for the deceased. Peter I introduced a tax on oak coffins as a luxury item.
Alive, smoking room!
The origin of the expression is associated with the game "Smoking Room", popular in the 18th century in Russia at gatherings on winter evenings. The players sat in a circle and passed a burning torch to each other, saying “Alive, alive, Smoking Room, not dead, thin legs, short soul...”. The loser was the one whose torch went out and began to smoke or smoke. Later this game was replaced by "Burn, burn clearly so that it does not go out."
Nick down
In the old days, almost the entire population in Russian villages was illiterate. To record the bread handed over to the landowner, the work performed, etc., so-called tags were used - wooden sticks up to a fathom long (2 meters), on which notches were made with a knife. The tags were split into two parts so that the marks were on both: one remained with the employer, the other with the performer. The calculation was made based on the number of notches. Hence the expression “notch on the nose,” meaning: remember well, take into account for the future.
Play spillikins
In the old days, the game of “spillikins” was common in Rus'. It consisted of using a small hook to pull out, without touching the others, one from another pile all the spillikins - all kinds of small toy things: hatchets, glasses, baskets, barrels. This is how not only children, but also adults spent time on long winter evenings.
Over time, the expression “playing spillikins” began to mean an empty pastime.
Latem cabbage soup to slurp
Lapti - woven shoes made of bast (the subcortical layer of linden trees), covering only the sole of the foot - in Rus' were the only affordable footwear for poor peasants, and shchi - a type 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 - made from sauerkraut, with meat, or lean - without meat, which was eaten during fasting or in cases of extreme poverty.
About a person who could not earn enough to buy boots and more refined food, they said that he “slurps on cabbage soup,” that is, he lives in terrible poverty and ignorance.
Fawn
The word “fawn” comes from the German phrase “Ich liebe sie” (I love you). Seeing the insincerity in the frequent repetition of this “swan”, Russian people wittily formed from these German words the Russian word “fawn” - it means to curry favor, to flatter someone, to achieve someone’s favor or favor with flattery.
Fishing in troubled waters
Stunning has long been one of the prohibited methods of catching fish, especially during spawning. There is a well-known fable by the ancient Greek poet Aesop about a fisherman who muddied the water around his nets, driving blinded fish into them. Then the expression went beyond fishing and acquired a broader meaning - to take advantage of an unclear situation.
There is also a well-known proverb: “Before you catch a fish, you [need] to muddy the waters,” that is, “deliberately create confusion for profit.”
Small fry
The expression came from peasant everyday life. In the Russian northern lands, a plow is a peasant community of 3 to 60 households. And small fry called a very poor community, and then its poor inhabitants. Later, officials occupying a low position in the government structure also began to be called small fry.
The thief's hat is on fire
The expression goes back to an old joke about how a thief was found in the market.
After futile 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.
Lather your head
In the old days, a tsarist soldier served indefinitely - until death or complete disability. Since 1793, a 25-year period of military service was introduced. The landowner had the right to give his serfs as soldiers for misconduct. Since recruits (recruits) had their hair shaved off and were referred to as “shaved”, “shaved their forehead”, “soaped their head”, the expression “I’ll soap my head” became synonymous with threat in the mouths of the rulers. In a figurative sense, “soap your head” means: to give a severe reprimand, to strongly scold.
Neither fish nor fowl
In Western and Central Europe of the 16th century, a new movement appeared in Christianity - Protestantism (lat. “to protest, object”). Protestants, unlike Catholics, opposed the Pope, denied holy angels and monasticism, arguing that each 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 commandments, ate modest meat, others preferred lean fish. If a person did not join any movement, then he was contemptuously called “neither fish nor fowl.” Over time, they began to talk about a person who does not have a clearly defined position in life, who is not capable of active, independent actions.
There is no place 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 that the product be checked by a jeweler and tested. When the product had been in many hands, there was no longer any room left for testing.
If we don't wash, we'll just ride
Before the invention of electricity, a heavy cast iron iron was heated over a fire and, until it cooled down, they ironed clothes 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 laundry was fixed on a special rolling pin - a round piece of wood similar to the one used to roll out dough nowadays. Then, using a ruble - a curved corrugated board with a handle - the rolling pin, along with the laundry wound onto 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 has a fresher appearance, even if the washing was not entirely successful.
This is how the expression “by washing, by rolling” appeared, that is, to achieve results in more than one way.
No fluff or feather - wishing you good luck in anything.
The expression was originally used as a “spell” designed to deceive evil spirits (this expression was used to admonish those going on a hunt; it was believed that with a direct wish for good luck one could “jinx” the prey).
The answer is “To hell!” should have further protected the hunter. To hell - this is not an expletive 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 feather). Then the unclean one will do the opposite, and what is needed will happen: the hunter will return “with down and feathers,” that is, with prey.
Let's beat swords into ploughshares
The expression goes back to the Old Testament, where it is said that “the time will come when the nations will beat swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up sword against nation, and they will no longer learn to fight.”
In the Old Church Slavonic language, “ploughshare” is a tool for cultivating land, something like a plow. The dream of establishing universal peace is figuratively expressed in the sculpture of the 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 a machine, with the help of which wool was carded. Getting into trouble meant being maimed and losing an arm. To get into trouble is to get into trouble, into an awkward position.
Knock you down
Confuse, confuse.
Pantalik is a distorted version of Pantelik, a mountain in Attica (Greece) with a stalactite cave and grottoes in which it was easy to get lost.
Straw Widow
Among the Russians, Germans and a number of other peoples, a bundle of straw served as a symbol of a concluded agreement: marriage or purchase and sale. To break the straw meant to break the contract, to separate. There was also a custom of making the newlyweds’ bed on sheaves of rye. Wedding wreaths were also woven from straw flowers. A wreath (from the Sanskrit word “vene” - “bundle”, meaning a bundle of hair) was a symbol of marriage.
If the husband left somewhere for a long time, they said that the woman was left with nothing but straw, which is how the expression “straw widow” appeared.
Dance from the stove
The expression became popular thanks to the novel by the 19th century Russian writer V.A. Sleptsov "A Good Man". The main character of the novel, "non-employee nobleman" Sergei Terebenev, returns to Russia after long wanderings around Europe. He remembers how he was taught to dance as a child. Seryozha 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 had closed: he started from the village, then Moscow, Europe, and, having reached the edge, he again returned to the village, to the stove.
Grated kalach
In Rus', kalach is wheat bread in the shape of a castle with a bow. Grated kalach was baked from hard kalach dough, which was kneaded and grated for a long time. This is where the proverb “Don’t grate, don’t crush, don’t make kalach” came from, which in a figurative sense means: “troubles teach a person.” And the words “grated kalach” have become popular - this is what they say about an experienced person who has seen a lot, who has “rubbed between people” a lot.
Pull the gimp
Gimp is a very thin, flattened, twisted gold or silver wire used for embroidery. Making gimp consists of pulling it out. This work, done manually, is tedious, monotonous and time-consuming. Therefore, the expression “pull the gimp” (or “spread the gimp”) in a figurative sense began to mean: to do something monotonous, tedious, causing an annoying loss of time.
In the middle of nowhere
In ancient times, clearings in dense forests were called kuligs. The pagans considered them bewitched. Later, people settled deep into the forest, looked for swarms, and settled there with their whole family. This is where the expression comes from: in the middle of nowhere, that is, very far away.
Too
In Slavic mythology, Chur or Shchur is the ancestor, ancestor, god of the hearth - the brownie.
Initially, “chur” meant: limit, border.
Hence the exclamation: “chur,” meaning a prohibition to touch something, to cross some line, beyond some limit (in spells against “evil spirits,” in games, etc.), a requirement to comply with some condition , agreement
From the word “too much” the word “too much” was born, meaning: to go beyond “too much”, to go beyond the limit. “Too much” means too much, too much, too much.
Sherochka with a masherochka
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 nobles studied there from the ages of 6 to 18. The subjects of study were the law of God, the French language, arithmetic, drawing, history, geography, literature, dancing, music, various types of home economics, as well as subjects of “secular manners”. The usual address of college girls to each other was the French ma chere. From these French words came the Russian words “sherochka” and “masherochka”, which are currently used to name a couple consisting of two women.
Walk trump
In ancient Rus', boyars, unlike commoners, sewed a collar embroidered with silver, gold and pearls, which was called a trump card, to the collar of their ceremonial caftan. The trump card stuck out impressively, giving the boyars a proud posture. Walking as a trump card means walking is important, but trumping means showing off something.
Do you know what a necklace, crucian carp, cage or muscle is? After reading a dictionary of obsolete words, you will realize that you do not know everything about these and other words that are now used in a different meaning...
Almanacs- astrological collections for fortune telling by the movements of the stars and the signs of the zodiac.
Argamak- eastern thoroughbred horse, racer: at a wedding - a horse under saddle, and not in harness.
Arshin- a measure of length equal to approximately 71 cm.
Bel Mozhaiskaya- An ancient Russian variety of bulk apples.
Pancake(pie) - several pancakes, stacked one on top of another and placed with each other with various fillings, greased on the sides with a mixture of eggs, flour and milk so that the filling does not fall out, and lightly fried in the oven.
Bort- a hollow tree in which bees live; our ancestors collected and used honey from wild bees.
Hogweed- a perennial plant of the umbrella family (Heraclium), young leaves and shoots were eaten.
Bro- a large bowl, a goblet with a spherical body, used for drinking in a circle.
Brashna- food.
Vekoshniki- pies seasoned with meat and fish leftovers.
Vershok- a measure of length equal to approximately 4.5 cm.
Vercheny- fried over an open fire.
Vespers- daily church service held before evening.
Vzvar- vegetable, onion or berry seasoning, sauce, gravy with spices for meat and fish dishes, also called drinks made from fruits and berries brewed with honey, beer or kvass.
Volosnik- women's headdress, a net made of gold or silver thread with trim (usually not festive, like kika, but everyday).
Voronogray- fortune telling by the cries and flight of birds; a book describing such signs.
Sackcloth e - hair shirt, coarse fabric, rags, thin torn dress.
Bran- what remains after sifting the flour.
Gorlatnaya(hat) - sewn from very thin fur taken from the neck of an animal; The shape is a tall, straight cap with a crown that flares upward.
Upper room- living space in the upper part of the house (cf. mountain - up).
Hot wine- vodka.
Hryvenka- a measure of weight equal to a pound, or approximately 400 g.
bed- a pole from wall to wall on which clothes were hung.
Guzhi- tripe or intestines cut into strips, boiled with garlic and spices.
Right hand- right hand.
Dora- antidoron, a large prosphora from which the Lamb was taken out for the Sacrament of Communion; parts of it are distributed to those receiving communion at the end of the Liturgy.
Roads- very fine oriental silk fabric.
Epancha- wide raincoat, long sleeveless outer dress.
Penance- church punishment for sins in the form of renunciation of any blessings in life, an increase in the prayer rule or the number of prostrations, etc.
Zhitnaya(porridge) - barley, made from unground barley groats.
Zaspa- any cereal that is poured into various liquid dishes.
Stargazer- astrology.
Zendeni
Zolotoe- gold woven or embroidered with gold (especially valuable).
Izvara, zvars are special vessels such as tubs for preparing drinks.
Cabal- any urgent written obligation, loan bondage - loan letter with a penalty.
Kalya- a liquid first course with the addition of pickles and cucumber brine.
Damask- patterned silk oriental fabric.
Canon- a church song in praise of a saint or holiday, read or sung at matins and vespers; establishments of the apostles, Ecumenical and Local Councils on faith and church rites.
Eve- food for remembrance of the dead.
Kaptan- winter covered carriage.
Kaptur- fur winter clothing for married women, especially widows; covered the head and the sides of the face and shoulders (cf. later - a hood).
Loaf- large round hearth bread made from wheat flour.
Karasiki- pies made of unleavened dough in a triangular shape, reminiscent of crucian carp, with various fillings, fried in oil.
Kaftan- long-sleeved men's outer dress of various cuts.
Kebenyak- men's outer cloak made of cloth with a hood and long sleeves.
Kika- a rounded female headdress (symbolic designation of a married woman); The kika was complemented by an embroidered scarf (podubrusnik) and a warrior (podubrusnik), which covered the hair, falling over the shoulders and chest.
Kindyaks- imported cotton fabric.
Cage- the cold half of the hut, often served as a pantry or closet.
Cartel- a warm summer jacket, lined with fur and covered with light silk fabric (without lace or buttons).
Kortsy- ladles, hollowed out of wood, served as a measure of grain.
Korchaga- large clay pot or cast iron.
Kosyachnaya(sturgeon) - salted red fish.
Kotlomy- flatbread made from dough layered with lamb fat, fried in oil.
Kseni- caviar in a shell, as well as sturgeon liver and dishes made from them: pike xeni with saffron - caviar boiled with saffron, non-white sturgeon xeni - sturgeon liver boiled with poppy milk or hemp oil.
Kumgang- a metal narrow-necked vessel with a lid and a handle.
Kundums- a product made from unleavened wheat dough, such as dumplings, filled with mushrooms or rice with mushrooms.
Kurnik- a rich round pie with chicken and eggs.
Kutya- boiled wheat with honey, brought to church when commemorating the dead.
Lefties- butter pies with berries.
Leftists- oval-shaped pies made of unleavened butter dough (during Lent in vegetable oil) filled with pureed fruit mass.
Letnik- light women's outerwear with long wide sleeves.
Liar- a sacred vessel with a cross on the handle, used as a spoon during Communion.
Lodoga- a fish of the whitefish family, found in Ladoga; Lodozhina - the meat of this fish.
Loubier- linden underbark, used on roofing (under planks), for bast, for bast.
Bald- horse forehead in harness.
Mazuni- a sweet dish of radish with molasses and spices.
Malakia- handjob, masturbation.
Manti(curves) - products made from unleavened dough with meat filling in the shape of a crescent.
Honey, honey is the main sweet product in the diet of the Eastern Slavs; gravity flow honey, or molasses - liquid honey flowing by gravity from honeycombs suspended in the sun; Bar honey is the lowest grade, obtained by melting honeycombs over a fire. Drinks made from honey were also called mead. Fresh honey is pure, undiluted and without additives.
Medvedna- tanned bear skins served as a cavity in the sleigh.
Mernik- a vessel of known size, volume, for example, a bucket.
Minderie- a cloth blanket, usually spread by young people on top of a warm blanket.
Monisto- necklace, beads.
Motion a - wallet, bag.
Msheloimstvo o - passion for acquiring and collecting unnecessary and superfluous things.
Muscle- shoulder, strength.
Nagolnaya(fur coat) - not covered with fabric, with fur inside.
Naltsevskie(sleigh) - a tall, elegant sleigh, which was used on special occasions: on holidays, at weddings.
Graveyard- log house, building above the cellar.
Nasp- usury on grain bread.
Nogavicy- clothing or shoes covering the shins.
Nights- a shallow wooden trough for sifting flour and rolling bread.
Obrot- a halter, a horse bridle without a bit and with one rein, for tethering.
Navar- liquid boiled down during cooking, broth.
Single row- a long-skirted caftan without a collar with a straight wrap and buttons, single-breasted.
Necklace- attached embroidered stand-up collar of a shirt or zipun.
Salary- a decorative covering on an icon made of thin sheets of gold, silver, gilded copper, often decorated with precious stones.
debarking- shanks, cartilage of the legs of cattle.
Unleavened Bread- thin dry flatbreads made from unleavened dough, which Judaism prescribes for believers to eat during the Passover.
Ocerdie- part of the offal, consisting of the throat, lungs and heart.
Prison- pointed stick, fishing tool; spurs.
Osmina- an eighth of something, a measure of the volume of bulk solids, especially grain, an eighth of an old cadi, weighing approximately 16 kg.
Okhaben- a swing dress made of silk or light cloth with a necklace and an odd number of buttons; a heavy cloak saddled over a fairyaz was also called an ohabnem.
To numb- make a slave, a serf.
Panagia- an icon worn by bishops on their chests; Maybe.
Paste- Russian delicacy, berry pulp, boiled with honey, laid out in layers and dried.
Syrup(white) - “honey tear” flowing by gravity from the honey comb, pure fresh honey is its best variety.
Pahwa- a tailpiece, a belt with a point from the saddle, the horse’s tail is threaded through it so that the saddle does not slide down onto the horse’s neck.
Plasti- fish cut into thin layers and dried, sheet fish - the same thing.
Cook- kitchen.
Compline- everyday church service, originating from the custom of monks to celebrate Compline in their cells; You can sing at home too.
Dragging- silk or paper fabric, used as lining for fur coats.
Under- smooth brick lining inside a Russian stove.
Podklet- a room in the foundation of a house that served various household needs.
Hearth(pies) - sour dough, highly risen, which are baked on a hearth.
Substitutes, - table, table, cupboard.
Train(wedding) - a ceremonial, ritual ride, a procession, as well as all participants in the ceremony - they are also riders.
Overweight- nets for catching birds; places for catching birds.
Fill up- sweeten, add honey.
Manure- to pay for the land under the buildings.
Canvases- processed, cut lengthwise poultry carcasses, salted in barrels. Polotkovaya (fish) - spread out lengthwise and salted.
Polteva meat- a carcass of beef, pork, poultry, cut lengthwise into two parts, salted or dried.
Midnight Office- a church service that takes place at midnight and at any hour of the night.
Fimble- the best canvas, peasant shirt.
Postav- a whole piece, a roll of fabric; as well as a weaving mill.
Supplier- a vessel in which kvass and beer are served at the table.
Prutovaya(fish) - cleaned, lightly salted and then dried, stored in bundles (rods).
Navels- the middle part of the fish between the head and tail (tesha); part cut from the belly of the beast; poultry stomachs.
Brine- a solution of salt or the liquid part of salted and fermented products, used as seasonings and drinks: plum, lemon, cabbage, beetroot, cucumber, etc.
Rafli- a book that interprets dreams and riddles.
Cavity- a carpet or fur blanket used in sleighs.
Polt- half a carcass, poultry, etc.
Lattice- a device for frying food over coals in a Russian oven or on an open hearth.
Rosolny- boiled in brine.
Romanea- sweet tincture with Fryazhsky wine.
Scar- animal stomach.
Saadak- embroidered case for bow and arrows.
Fathom- a measure of length equal to 1.76 m.
Sandrik- kidney part of a lamb carcass, saddle.
Saint, saintly rank - the highest degree of priesthood, bishops, bishops, archbishops, metropolitans.
Sochni- thin flatbreads made from unleavened dough, which could be topped with cottage cheese on fast days, and porridge on fast days.
Sporks- torn things, parts of clothing.
Strada- summer agricultural work: harvesting, mowing, harvesting grain, etc.
Thunder arrows and axes- sand or stone of meteorite origin fused by lightning; served for therapeutic “draining of waters” for magical rituals.
Acquisition- property, wealth, everything acquired and mined.
Existence, essence, essence- dried small fish, not necessarily smelt.
Glassware- flask, small vial, sometimes this was the name for any glassware.
Cheese- this is what both cottage cheese and cheese were called. Sponge cheeses are rennet cheeses produced by fermenting milk with rennet. Sour cheeses are molded, highly pressed cottage cheese.
satiate- sweeten with honey.
Abomasum- one of the four stomachs of ruminants.
Tavranchuk- a liquid fish dish in which the fish is cut into pieces.
Trivet- a round iron hoop on legs, under which a fire is lit, and a vessel with brew is placed on it.
Taffeta- smooth and thin silk fabric of oriental origin.
Created- round vessels in which they made (created) and molded cottage cheese, marshmallows, etc.
Telogrey- a women's warm jacket, with or without sleeves, long or short, worn over a sundress.
Telnoe- boneless fish, fish fillet, often chopped (chopped) with onions and seasonings, laid out in wooden forms in the form of any animals and birds (for example, piglets and ducks, hence piglets, ducks), or simply round (loaves) , or wrapped in cloth and baked or boiled.
Terlik- a kind of caftan to the toes, with short sleeves and an interception at the waist, with a fastener on the chest.
Tolchaniki- koloboki, vegetable dumplings, eaten with fish soup.
Tropari- church hymns follow the Irmos and Kanon. They are turned to the Irmos, lead a series of thoughts from it and are subordinate to it in rhythm and tone; in their content they represent prayers in honor of the holiday of a given day or a saint who is honored on this day.
Trubitsy- fruit or berry pastilles dried in thin layers or lefties rolled into a tube.
Pipes(beluga) - an unlined, headless carcass of a medium-sized fish without a tail.
Tukmachi- a type of noodle made from wheat or pea flour.
Tyn- solid wooden fence.
Tysyatsky- one of the participants in the Russian wedding, the main manager.
Tax- direct tax, tax from a peasant family endowed with land.
Traction and (cart) - support, from the end of the cart axis to the beds.
Ubrus- thin cloth, shawl, scarf.
Oud- any externally separate part of the body: arm, leg, finger, etc.
Vinegar - beer kvass was called vinegar.
Chime- cutting out the inner surface of a wooden vessel at the edge where the bottom is inserted with an edge.
Ear- a large group of ancient Russian soups, almost a broth with the addition of onions and seasonings: fish, chicken, crayfish, beef; white - from pike perch, perch, ruffe, whitefish with onions, black - from asp, carp, chub, crucian carp, carp, red - from sturgeon and salmon fish, nasimaya - frozen very strong broth, jelly, ordinary - cooked in the simplest way, baked - from pre-baked fish, plastic - from plastic dried fish.
Ear- a liquid dish of lamb brisket, chopped into pieces.
Veil- a cover made of light transparent fabric, a large square scarf, a bedspread.
Feryazi- outerwear without a belt and collar with long sleeves, swinging, with a row of buttons.
Fryazhskie(wines) - Italian, i.e. all sorts of overseas grape wines.
brushwood- cookies made from butter dough in strips fried in oil.
Sieve bread- from flour sifted through a sieve.
Sieve bread- from premium flour, sifted through a sieve.
Tufts- popular names for small ruff, usually dried: in general, any fish that was sold not by weight, but by measurements.
Khryapa- top cabbage leaves.
Cherevya(hat) - made from fur taken from the belly of an animal.
Quarter- a fourth part of something; a measure of the volume of bulk solids, especially bread, a quarter of an ancient cadi, weighing approximately 32 kg.
Chetygi- soft leather (morocco) or fabric stockings with leather soles, on which shoes were then put on.
Chin- the correct order of service, action or ritual: the person performing it.
loins- lower back, or the circumference of the body above the pelvis, waist.
Sixth beef- that is, dried on poles in a Russian oven.
Sixwing- tables for fortune telling by zodiac signs and stars.
Shekhonskaya(sturgeon) - caught in Sheksna.
Fly- any panel, a piece of solid fabric; a towel, the bride gives away flies of her own making, either embroidered or with lace; they were belted with a fly instead of a sash, the fly was hung like a tent over the icons; The large scarf with which the bride was covered was also called a fly.
Cones- a type of round-shaped cookie baked during Shrovetide; The newlyweds gave the same gift to guests invited to the wedding.
Shti sour- a type of kvass, differing from kvass in a more sour taste; used as a drink and for marinating meat before frying and for cold soups.
Shuiya- left.
Liquor- a decoction of ash or an infusion of boiling water on ash, used as a detergent.
Cabbage soup for two- in general, stew, any soup with seasonings, but without meat, game or fish.
Yurma- types of sausages with lamb, lard, etc.
Yalovaya(heifer) - has not yet given birth.
In the dictionary of obsolete words we have included terms that are currently practically not used or are used very rarely. Outdated words and expressions are words that it is important to familiarize your child with before reading a fairy tale or explain their meaning while reading, so that the meaning of the work is perceived exactly as the authors would like. Some obsolete words and their meaning will be especially useful for the overall development of the child, for example, measures of length: vershok, fathom and others.
Outdated words in the Russian language are for the most part those words that have gone out of use in the modern world, but which our old grandparents can still very often use in communication. We can convey to children the kindness of Little Red Riding Hood, the tenderness of Thumbelina, the hard work of Cinderella and many other best character traits of the characters in the language of their great-grandparents and at the same time instill in children respect and interest in our history.
If this dictionary of outdated words of the Russian language does not contain the word you were looking for or you were not able to fully understand the meaning of existing words, write to us through the feedback form, they will definitely answer you.
Abvakhta - guardhouse Perhaps - either - perhaps, maybe Azhno - so Azovka - mythical creature Aksamit - velvet Altyn - three kopecks Asps - poisonous snakes
Babayka - a large oar attached to a boat Baet - speaks, tells Baidak - a river boat with one large sail Balagta - swamp Balakat - speak Canopy - a decorated canopy on posts Balodka - a one-handed hammer Basa - beauty, decoration, panache Batog - stick Bergamots - variety pears Pregnancy - an armful of Bosoviki - slippers Boyars - rich and noble people War - battle Brotherhood - brotherhood Armor - metal clothing that protects a warrior from blows Damask steel - weapons made of steel Burochki - a type of warm boots for cold climates, often felt boots Bureau - table with paper storage box
To go on patrol - to guard, to guard In a bag - to chase Vacation time - vacation Vacation - vacation To know - to know Venuti - to blow, to blow Vershok - an old measure of length, equal to 4.4 centimeters Vestimo - of course, it goes without saying Vetoshka - a rag Knight - a brave warrior , bogatyr Vovan is a liquid fat extracted from the fat of marine mammals. Used for lighting in lamps and street lamps Meet - meet Eversion - the rhizome of a large tree turned out of the ground Endure - withstand, endure, endure
Galushka - dumpling cooked in water or borscht Galyota - a small merchant ship Ganat - guessing Voice of obedience - an answering voice Gorazd - knows how Gorka - a pyramid-shaped shelf for expensive dishes Upper room - room Rowing - a narrow dam on the river
Hay girl - maid Ten - 24 sheets Marvel - surprise, amaze
Food - food, food If - if
Zhaleika - a pipe made of willow bark Zhban - a jug with a lid Burmitsky (Burmite) pearls - large and round pearls Zhernovtsy - a small hand-made chalk
Zagnetka - a place in the fore-furnace where the heat is raked Zagnetka - a place in front of the firebox where the heat is raked Get started - start fasting Ahead of time - sing Lazarus in advance - flatteringly beg Sinisters - small fantastic creatures
Imperial - Indus gold coin - even, so
Treasury - money, wealth, property Kamka - silk colored fabric with patterns Karmazin - dark red cloth Kniksen - bow with a squat as a sign of greeting or gratitude from females Casing - outerwear made of leather Kokurochka - butter flatbread Kolymaga - carriage, in which noble people traveled Korob - a basket, a basket Oblique fathom - an ancient Russian measure of length, the distance from the toes to the end of the fingers of an outstretched hand diagonally is 216 cm Krinitsa - a well, a spring Krosna - a home loom Kudel - a bunch of flax or wool Body - wicker basket
Plate - iron or steel armor worn by warriors Lyko - the bark of a young linden, willow, elm, bast shoes, baskets, baskets are woven from it Lytka - shirk, shirk Lytka - part of the leg below the knee
Damask sword - a sword made of especially strong steel It’s not my first time - it’s not my first time Hoe - a hand-held agricultural tool Ant - overgrown with grass (ant)
Biggest - senior Whip - belt whip Namale - soap Unsalted to sip - be deceived in your expectations Nikoli - never
Flint - a stone or piece of steel for cutting fire from flint Once - once, once Come to your senses - come to your senses Scream - plow Chill - freeze
Boarding house - a school with a dormitory for students Blame - reproach, reproach Finger - finger New - welcoming a newborn Polati - wide sleeping bunks in a hut under the ceiling between the stove and the opposite wall Pomelo - a broom wrapped in a rag at the end, used for sweeping ash in the stove Tried - tried on Kidnapper - thief Start - start Clearing - a clearing or lawn in the forest not overgrown with trees Jumpy - fast Pryazhon - fried (fry in oil) Span - an ancient measure, the distance between the thumb and index finger of the hand
Army - army Rosstan - the crossroads of two roads To dress up - to persuade
Sazhen - an ancient Russian measure of length, the distance of the arm span from the fingertips of one hand to the fingertips of the other Salop - an ancient outer women's dress Sam-ten - ten times more Sam-pyat - five times more Sam-Thursday - four times more Seredovich - a middle-aged man A scolded tablecloth - a tablecloth woven with patterns Conscience will not hurt - conscience does not bother Shrike, shrike - a bird from the order of passerines Student - a well with icy water Sousek - a chest in which flour or grain is stored Twist - twist, twist several strands into one a thread
Vocabulary is the totality of all the words we use. Ancient words can be considered a separate group in the vocabulary. There are many of them in the Russian language, and they belong to different historical eras.
What are old words
Since language is an integral part of the history of a people, the words that are used in this language are of historical value. Ancient words and their meaning can tell a lot about what events took place in the life of the people in a particular era and which of them were of great importance. Ancient, or outdated, words are not actively used in our time, but are present in the vocabulary of the people, recorded in dictionaries and reference books. They can often be found in works of art.
For example, in the poem by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin we read the following passage:
"In the crowd of mighty sons,
With friends, in the high grid
Vladimir the sun feasted,
He gave away his youngest daughter
For the brave prince Ruslan."
There is the word “gridnitsa” here. Nowadays it is not used, but in the era of Prince Vladimir it meant a large room in which the prince, together with his warriors, held celebrations and feasts.
Historicisms
There are different types of ancient words and their designations. According to scientists, they are divided into two large groups.
Historicisms are words that are now not actively used for the reason that the concepts they denote have fallen out of use. For example, “caftan”, “chain mail”, armor”, etc. Archaisms are words that denote concepts familiar to us in other words. For example, mouth - lips, cheeks - cheeks, neck - neck.
In modern speech, as a rule, they are not used. which are incomprehensible to many and are not typical for our everyday speech. But they do not disappear completely from use. Writers use historicisms and archaisms to truthfully tell about the past of the people; with the help of these words they convey the flavor of the era. Historicisms can truthfully tell us about what once happened in other eras in our homeland.
Archaisms
Unlike historicisms, archaisms denote those phenomena that we encounter in modern life. These are smart words, and their meanings do not differ from the meanings of words familiar to us, they just sound differently. There are different archaisms. There are those that differ from ordinary words only in some features in spelling and pronunciation. For example, hail and city, gold and gold, young - young. These are phonetic archaisms. In the 19th century there were many such words. This is klob (club), stora (curtain).
There is a group of archaisms with obsolete suffixes, for example, muzeum (museum), assistance (assistance), rybar (fisherman). Most often we come across lexical archaisms, for example, oko - eye, right hand - right hand, shuitsa - left hand.
Like historicisms, archaisms are used to create a special world in fiction. Thus, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin often used archaic vocabulary to add pathos to his works. This is clearly evident in the example of the poem “The Prophet”.
Words from Ancient Rus'
Ancient Rus' gave a lot to modern culture. But then there was a special lexical environment, some words from which were preserved and some are no longer used at all in A. Old obsolete Russian words from that era give us an idea of the origin
For example, old curse words. Some of them very accurately reflect the negative qualities of a person. Pustobrekh is a chatterbox, Ryuma is a crybaby, the thick-haired forehead is a fool, and shabby is a disheveled person.
The meaning of ancient Russian words sometimes differed from the meanings of the same roots in the modern language. We all know the words “jump” and “jump”; they mean rapid movement in space. The Old Russian word “sig” meant the smallest unit of time. One moment contained 160 whitefish. The largest measurement value was considered “far distance”, which was equal to 1.4
Ancient words and their meanings are discussed by scientists. The names of coins that were used in Ancient Rus' are considered ancient. For coins that appeared in the eighth and ninth centuries in Rus' and were brought from Russia, the names “kuna”, “nogata” and “rezana” were used. Then the first Russian coins appeared - zlatniks and silver coins.
Outdated words from the 12th and 13th centuries
The pre-Mongol period in Rus', 12-13 centuries, is characterized by the development of architecture, which was then called architecture. Accordingly, a layer of vocabulary related to the construction and construction of buildings appeared then. Some of the words that appeared then remained in the modern language, but the meaning of ancient Russian words has changed over all this time.
The basis of life in Rus' in the 12th century was the fortress, which then had the name “Detinets”. A little later, in the 14th century, the term “Kremlin” appeared, which then also meant the city. The word "kremlin" can be an example of how old, outdated Russian words change. If now there is only one Kremlin, the residence of the head of state, then there were many Kremlins.
In the 11th and 12th centuries in Rus', cities and fortresses were built from wood. But they could not resist the onslaught of the Mongol-Tatars. The Mongols, when they came to conquer the lands, simply swept away the wooden fortresses. Novgorod and Pskov survived. The word “Kremlin” appears for the first time in the Tver chronicle of 1317. Its synonym is the ancient word “kremnik”. Then kremlins were built in Moscow, Tula and Kolomna.
The social and aesthetic role of archaisms in classical fiction
Ancient words, the discussion of which is often found in scientific articles, were often used by Russian writers in order to make the speech of their works of art more expressive. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in his article described the process of creating “Boris Godunov”: “I tried to guess the language of that time.”
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov also used ancient words in his works, and their meaning exactly corresponded to the realities of the time from which they were taken. Most of the ancient words appear in his work “Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich.” This is, for example, “you know”, “oh you goy are you”, Ali.” Also, Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky writes works in which there are many ancient words. These are “Dmitry the Pretender”, “Voevoda”, “Kozma Zakharyich Minin-Sukhoruk”.
The role of words from past eras in modern literature
Archaisms remained popular in the literature of the 20th century. Let us remember the famous work of Ilf and Petrov “The Twelve Chairs”. Here, ancient words and their meaning have a special, humorous connotation.
For example, in the description of Ostap Bender’s visit to the village of Vasyuki, the phrase “The one-eyed man did not take his only eye off the grandmaster’s shoes” appears. Archaisms with Church Slavonic overtones are also used in another episode: “Father Fedor became hungry. He wanted wealth."
when using historicisms and archaisms
Historicisms and archaisms can greatly embellish fiction, but their inept use causes laughter. Ancient words, the discussion of which often becomes very lively, as a rule, cannot be used in everyday speech. If you start asking a passerby: “Why is your neck open in winter?”, then he will not understand you (meaning your neck).
In newspaper speech, there is also inappropriate use of historicisms and archaisms. For example: “The school director welcomed young teachers who came to practice.” The word "welcomed" is synonymous with the word "welcomed". Sometimes schoolchildren insert archaisms into their essays and thereby make the sentences not very clear and even absurd. For example: “Olya came running in tears and told Tatyana Ivanovna about her offense.” Therefore, if you want to use ancient words, their meaning, interpretation, meaning must be absolutely clear to you.
Outdated words in fantasy and science fiction
Everyone knows that genres such as fantasy and science fiction have gained enormous popularity in our time. It turns out that ancient words are widely used in works of the fantasy genre, and their meaning is not always clear to the modern reader.
The reader can understand such concepts as “banner” and “finger”. But sometimes there are more complex words, such as “komon” and “nasad”. It must be said that publishing houses do not always approve of the excessive use of archaisms. But there are works in which the authors successfully use historicisms and archaisms. These are works from the “Slavic fantasy” series. For example, the novels by Maria Stepanova “Valkyrie”, Tatyana Korostyshevskaya “Mother of the Four Winds”, Maria Semenova “Wolfhound”, Denis Novozhilov “The Far Away Kingdom. War for the throne."
