Meanings of obsolete Russian words

Monetary units:

Altyn
From Tatarsk.Alty - six - an old Russian monetary 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 is an old Russian unit of mass measurement, which was part of the Russian system of measures and was used in the north of the 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 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

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 time
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 harvesting of buckles, in contrast to the manufacture of products from them, was considered an easy, simple matter that did 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 the time of 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 a document that closed access to a public service, an educational institution, etc. Today, phraseological units are used in the sense 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". In 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 here is a stallion that has turned gray from long work, and figuratively - a man who is already talking from old age and is 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 on 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 touching 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 (subcrustal 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, which were eaten 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 the German phrase "Ich liebe sie" (Ich liebe zi - I love you). Seeing the insincerity in the frequent repetition of this “swan”, the Russian people wittily formed the Russian word “fawn” from these German words - it means to fawn, to flatter someone, to seek someone’s favor, 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 of military service has been introduced. The landowner had the right to send his serfs to soldiers for a fault. Since the recruits (recruits) shaved off their hair and they 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. In a figurative sense, "soap your head" means: to give a stern 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 this about a person who does not have a clearly defined life position, who is not capable of active, independent actions.
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 the 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 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 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 novel by the Russian writer of the XIX century V.A. Sleptsov "Good man". The protagonist of the novel "non-serving nobleman" Sergei Terebenev returns to Russia after a long wandering around 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. From here came the proverb "Do not grate, do not mint, there will be no kalach", which in a figurative sense means: "troubles teach a person." 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 gimp" (or "dilute the gimp") 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
In Slavic mythology, Chur or Shchur is an ancestor, an ancestor, the god of the hearth - a 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.), the requirement to comply with some condition , 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, various types of housekeeping, as well as subjects of "secular manners". The common address of institute 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.
trump
In ancient Russia, the 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.

Explanatory dictionary of ancient Russian words A Alatyr - the Center of the Cosmos. Center of the Microcosm (Man). That around which the cycle of Life takes place. Translation options: ala - motley (snowy), tyr<тур>- a peak, a staff or a pillar with a pommel, a sacred tree, a mountain, “uplifting” Variations: Latyr, Altyr, Zlatyr, Zlatar Constant epithet - "white combustible (hot, sparkling)" - (white - "brilliant"). In Russian texts, there is a golden, golden, smooth, iron stone. Latyr-stone is the center of coordinates of the world and man in Slavic mythology. Alpha and Omega. That from which everything begins and to which it returns (locus). More precisely, the meaning and meaning of the words are conveyed in epics ... Alkonost - from the ancient Russian saying “alkyon is (a bird)”, from the Greek alkyon - kingfisher (the Greek myth about Alcyone, turned into a kingfisher by the gods). It is depicted in popular prints as a half-woman, half-bird with large multi-colored feathers and a girl's head, overshadowed by a crown and a halo. In his hands he holds heavenly flowers and an unfolded scroll with a saying about retribution in paradise for a righteous life on earth. Unlike the Sirin bird, it was always depicted with hands. Alkonost, like the Sirin bird, captivates people with its singing. The legends say about the days of alkonost - seven days when Alkonost lays eggs in the depths of the sea and incubates them, sitting on the surface of the water and calming the storms. Alkonost is perceived as a "manifestation of divine providence" and serves as a designation of the divine word. B Basa - beauty, decoration, panache. Batog - stick. Bayat, probayat - speak, say. Pregnancy is a burden, an armful, as much as you can wrap your arms around. Boyars are rich and noble people who are close to the king. Swearing is a battle; Martial field is a battlefield. Brother - brother. Armor - clothing made of metal plates or rings; protected the warrior from the blows of the sword, spear. Britous - the Old Believers called so shaved, without a beard Bulat - steel of a special manufacture. Weapons made of this steel were also called damask steel. Butet - get rich, increase wealth. The story is a true story. Bylina is a Russian folk epic (full of grandeur and heroism) song - a legend about heroes. To know - to know. Vereya - a pillar on which the gates were hung. Nativity scene - cave, dungeon. To make a noise - to make a noise. Goldet (halt) \u003d make noise. "Don't go gold!" = don't make noise! Golk = noise, hum,< гулкий >echo. Frantic - having lost all sense of proportion. Vityaz - a brave warrior, hero. Lightweight - easy, free, without much work, safe. To endure - to endure, endure, endure. G Garnets - an old measure of loose bodies, bread (~ 3 liters) Goy be (from the word goit - heal, live; goy - peace< , в его развитии, в движении и обновлении >, abundance) - greatness, a wish for health, corresponding in meaning to today's: "Be healthy! Hello!". Goy be good = be healthy<есть>"Goy" is a Russian wish for health, good luck and well-being, a kind word. Options: "Goy este" - be healthy, in the meaning of greeting, wishing the interlocutor health, goodness. "Oh, you" is a greeting, with many meanings, depending on the intonation of the speaker. Much - knows how, skillful Upper room - so, in the old fashioned way, they called the upper room with large windows. Barn, gumenets - a place where they thresh, and also a barn for storing sheaves. D Just now - recently (until the moment of the conversation) Dushegreka - a warm short jacket or quilted jacket without sleeves, with assemblies at the back. Dereza - thorny shrub, "chepyzhnik". In an ancient fashion - in the old way Dense - "dense forest" - dark, dense, impenetrable; illiterate person Ye Yelan, elanka - a grassy clearing in the forest of Endova - a wide vessel with a spout. Estva - food, food. Zhaleika - a pipe made of willow bark. A jug is a jug with a lid. The belly is life. Belly - estate, wealth, livestock Z Zavse<гда>- constantly. Start talking - start talking, fasting. Zastava - a fence of logs, a checkpoint at the entrance And the Eminent - a rich, noble Monk - in the church. “I was tonsured a monk, then consecrated a deacon...” A hut is a house, a warm room. The name “hut” comes from the word “to heat” (the original version is “source” / from a birch bark letter, XIV century - Novgorod, Dmitrievskaya street, excavations /). House = "smoke" from the chimney. K Kalinovy ​​(about fire) - bright, hot. Karga is a crow. A tub is a cylindrical container (barrel) assembled from wooden rivets (planks) tied with metal hoops. Killer whale / killer whale - affectionate appeal. The original meaning is "having beautiful braids" Kichka, kika is an old women's headdress that adorns the appearance and gives it a become. A cage is a closet, a separate room A cage in an old Russian house was called a cold room, and a hut was a warm one. Basement - the lower cold floor of Klyuk's house - a stick with a bent upper end. Knysh - bread baked from wheat flour, which is eaten hot. Kokora, kokorina - snag, stump. Kolymaga - an old decorated carriage, in which noble people rode. Kolyada - Christmas grandeur in honor of the owners of the house; for a carol they gave away a gift. A carol is a Christmas song sung on Christmas Eve and on the first day of Christmas time by rural youth. For ancient carols, elements are characteristic - verses and conclusions from the kondachka - without being prepared. Origin (option): the original word - Kondakia (kondakia, kontakia) - a stick (a diminutive of "spear"), on which a scroll of parchment was wound. The parchment sheet or scroll, written on both sides, was also called kandak. Subsequently, the word K. began to denote a special group of church hymns, in the middle of the first millennium - long (hymns, poems), modern - small (in one or two stanzas, as part of the canon) Box, boxes - a large bast box or box in which they kept miscellaneous good. Kochet, kochetok - a rooster. To be baptized - to be baptized, to overshadow oneself with a cross. "Wake up!" - come to your senses! Kurgan - a high earthen hill, which the ancient Slavs poured over the grave. Kut, kutnichek - a corner in the hut, a counter, a chest in which chickens were kept in winter. Kutia - steep sweet barley, wheat or rice porridge with raisins Krug-amulet - developed from a circular detour of the area where they were going to spend the night or settle for a long time; such a detour was necessary to make sure that there were no dens of predators, or snakes. The idea of ​​a circle served as an image<своего> peace. L Lada! - expression of consent, approval. Well! other Russian Okay - the word has many meanings depending on intonation. Armor - iron or steel armor worn by warriors. M Poppy - crown. Matitsa - the average ceiling beam. The world is a peasant community. N Nadezha-warrior is an experienced, reliable, strong, skillful fighter. Nadys - recently, one of these days. Overhead - interest. "It will not be expensive" - ​​inexpensive, beneficial to Namesto - instead. Nareksya - called himself; to name - to give a name, to call. A week is a day when "do not do" - a day of rest. In the pre-Christian period in Russia, Saturday and Sunday were called - fore-week and week (or week), respectively. Arrears - tax not paid on time or quitrent Nicoli - never. O Frill - a tie at the bast shoes. Abundance - a lot of something. So in Novgorod they called the quitrent bread - a tribute To snuggle up - to regain consciousness, to recover. Oprich, okromya - except. Yell - plow. The rest - the last Octopus - the eighth (eighth) part \u003d 1/8 - "an octuplet for tea" (~ 40 or 50 grams) Oprich - except ("okromya") P Mace - a club with a chained knob. Parun is a hot day after rain. Sailboat - sailor's clothing. Brocade - silk fabric woven with gold or silver. More - "more", "especially since ... = especially since ..." Veil - something that covers from all sides (fabric, fog, etc.) Blame - reproach, reproach. Finger - finger. Polati - a plank platform for sleeping, arranged under the ceiling. Spelled is a special kind of wheat. To please - to be zealous; eat a lot. Posad is a village where merchants and artisans lived. Throne - a throne, a special chair on a dais, on which the king sat on solemn occasions. Always - an old, high-style word meaning - always, forever and ever Printed gingerbread - a gingerbread with an imprinted (printed) pattern or letters. Pudovka - pood measure of weight. Pushcha is a protected, impenetrable forest. It is necessary to think - to think, to think, to think over this matter, to discuss something with someone; to think - to understand, to think, to reason about something. Sexual (color) - light yellow Midday - southern P Military - military. Rat is an army. Zealous - zealous, diligent Towel - an embroidered towel. Row - agree, agree. Unbelt - walk without a belt, lose all shame Rivers (verb) - say Repishche - garden Rubishche - torn, worn out clothes From the Svetlitsa (Push.) - a bright, clean room. Scythian = skete (original) - from the words "wander", "wandering", therefore, "Scythians-sketes" - "wanderers" ("nomads"? ). A new meaning - the monastic skete "The Good Tablecloth" - the original meaning ... Apple saved Sloboda - a village near the city, a suburb. Nightingale - horses of a yellowish-white color. Sorokovka - a barrel for forty buckets. Sorochin, Sarachin - Saracen, Arab rider. The clothes are right - that is, not bad. Staritsa - an old (or dried up) river bed. Stolbovaya noblewoman - a noblewoman of an old and noble family. Adversary - adversary, enemy. with a gimmick - at times, inadequately. Antimony - painted black. Leaf - covered with a thin film of gold, silver, copper or tin. Gilded Susek, bin<а>- a place where flour, grain is stored. Sit - food, food. Week - week T Terem - high, with a turret at the top, at home. Tims - shoes made of goat skin. They were highly valued, sold in yufts, that is, in pairs. Later they began to be called "morocco" (Persian word) Is it here<тута>, and roofing felts there ... - words from a modern song about the difficulty of learning the Russian language. Allure three crosses - ultra-fast execution of any assignment: one cross on packages with reports - the usual speed of horse delivery is 8-10 km / h, two - up to 12 km / h, three - the maximum possible. Oatmeal - crushed (unground) oatmeal. To thin - to spend U Udel - possession, principality, fate Uval ... - Ural (?) - Khural (belt, Turkic) ... Russia, belted by the Urals, stands by Siberia ... F Enamel - enamel in painting metal products and Fita products themselves - the letter of the old Russian alphabet (in the words "Fedot", "incense") Foot - an old measure of length equal to 30.48 cm X Chiton - underwear made of linen or woolen fabric in the form of a shirt, usually sleeveless. On the shoulders it is fastened with special fasteners or ties, at the waist it is pulled with a belt. The tunic was worn by both men and women. Khmara - cloud Pyarun - thunder Ts Tsatra (chatra, chator) - fabric made of goat down (undercoat) or wool. Tselkovy is the colloquial name for the metal ruble. H Chelo - forehead, modern. In the old days, the forehead is the top of the head. A child is a son or daughter up to 12 years old. Hope - expect, hope. Chapyzhnik - thickets<колючего> shrub. Chebotar - shoemaker, shoemaker. Chobots - high closed shoes, male and female, boots or shoes with sharp, turned-up toes roan horse - motley, with white patches on gray (and other, main) wool or a different color mane and tail Chelyad - a servant in the house. Scarlet - red Chelo - a forehead of a person, a vaulted hole in a Russian stove, an inlet of a lair by Chetami - in pairs, in pairs. Cheta - a pair, two objects or persons Quarter - the fourth part of something Black (clothing) - rough, everyday, working. Chikat - hit Chugunka - railway. Ш Shelom - a helmet, a pointed iron cap for protection from sword blows. Shlyk - jester's hat, cap, cap. Shtof - a glass bottle of 1.23 liters (1/10 of a bucket) Щ Generosity of the soul - generosity. A man with a big heart, showing a noble breadth of soul E Yu Yushka - fish soup or liquid stew. St. George's Day (November 26) - a period specified by law, when in Moscow Russia a peasant who settled on the master's land and entered into an "orderly" with the owner had the right to leave the owner, having previously fulfilled all his obligations towards him. This was the only time in the year, after the end of the autumn work (the week before and after November 26), when dependent peasants could pass from one owner to another. I am Paradise Egg - happiness egg, magic egg. Food - food, food, food. Yarilo - the ancient name of the Sun Ash stump - meaning: "Of course! Of course!" In this form, the expression - appeared, comparatively, recently Yakhont - other Russian. name some precious stones, more often ruby ​​(dark red corundum), less often sapphire (blue), etc. Permyaks, Zyryans, midday Votyaks - southern Fryazhsky - Italian. "Fryazh" writing - a type of painting, as a result of the transition from icon painting to natural painting, at the end of the 17th century. Germans are those who speak incomprehensibly (mute). the Dutch - from the territory where the Kingdom of the Netherlands is now located. Sorochinin - Arabic languages ​​​​- peoples (general name) Man Chelo - forehead Odesnaya - on the right hand or side of Oshuyu - on the left hand or side. Shui - left. Shuytsa - left hand. Right hand and Shuytsa - right and left hand, right and left side ("standing on the right and left at the entrance ...") Colors "red sun", "red girl" - beautiful, bright "red corner" - the main red color - a talisman The connection of weaving with Vityer's cosmological motifs and weaving in weaving is presented as a form of modeling the world. If the thread is fate, life path; that canvas, constantly produced and reproduced, is the whole World. Ritual towels (towels, the length of which is 10-15 times greater than the width) and square scarves with an ornament in the form of a model (mandala) of the Universe. Ancient Slavic writing ("Russian letters", before the beginning of the second millennium AD) - Slavic Runes and "Knot Letter" In folk tales, a knotted tangle-guide is often found, indicating the Way. Unwinding and reading it, a person learned clues - where to go and what to do, read word-images and numbers. Knotted (nodular-linear) Elm was wound, for storage, into ball books (or on a special wooden stick - Ust; hence the teachings from the elders - "Wrap it around your mustache") and put it away in a box-box (from where the concept "Talk with three box"). Attaching the thread to the mouth (the center of the ball) was considered the beginning of the recording. Many letters-symbols of the ancient Glagolitic alphabet are a stylized representation of a two-dimensional projection onto paper of the Knot Binder. Initial letters (capital letters of ancient texts in Cyrillic) - usually depicted in the form of an ornament of the Knotted Bind. Loop techniques were also used to transmit and store information and to create protective amulets and amulets (including braiding hair). Examples of words and phrases that mention nauzes: "tie a knot in memory", "bonds of friendship / marriage", "intricacies of the plot", "tie up" (stop), union (from souz<ы>), "runs like a red thread (Alya) through the whole story." "Features and Cuts" - "bark writing" (a simplified version of the Slavic runes), widely used for everyday records and short messages between people. Slavic Runes are sacred symbols, each of which conveyed a phonetic meaning (the sound of a runic alphabet sign), a meaning-image (for example, the letter "D" meant "good", "well-being"< дары Богов, "хлеб насущный" >, Tree< в узелковом письме может соответствовать перевёрнутой петле "коровья" (схватывающий узел) / Дерево >and belt buckle) and numerical correspondence. To encrypt or shorten the record, knitted runes were used (combined, intertwined, embedded in a picturesque ornament). A monogram, an alphabetic monogram - a combination into one image of the initial letters of the name and / or surname, usually intertwined and forming a patterned ligature. Dwelling The main pillar in the house is the central one supporting the hut. Community Ordinary objects are common (that is, no one's; belonging to everyone and no one in particular) things that are important for everyone to the same extent, with common rites. Belief in purity (whole, healthy) and the sanctity of common ritual meals, brotherhood, joint prayers, clubbing. An ordinary object is clean, new, it has the enormous power of a whole, untouched thing. The main elements of Slavic mythology Latyr-stone, Alatyr - the center of coordinates of the world and man in Slavic mythology. Alpha and Omega (original singular Growth Point and the final volumetric World< всё наше Мироздание, есть и другие, но очень далеко, со всех сторон >in the form of an almost infinite sphere). That from which everything begins and where it returns (point, locus). Miraculous stone (in Russian folk beliefs). in epics ... Alatyr - Centers of the Cosmos (the Universe) and the Microcosm (Man). Fractal Growth Point, 3D< / многомерная >line of singularity ("Ladder" connecting the worlds), a fabulous "magic wand" / wand / staff with a pommel or a stationary Magic Altar. That from which the Existing begins and returns, around which the cycle of Life takes place (axial point). Russian letter A, Greek - "Alpha". The symbol of the Ladder is a prayer rosary (“ladder” = a ladder connecting the top and bottom of the Universe) / “lestovka”). In the temple - the Analoy (high table, in the center, for icons and liturgical books). Translation options: ala - motley, tyr<тур>- a pinnacle, a pillar or a staff with a triple pommel, a fabulous "magic wand", a scepter, a sacred tree or mountain, the trunk of the World Tree, "uplifting" Options - Latyr, Altyr, Zlatyr, Zlatar, Alva luminous, hot, sparkling) "- (white - dazzlingly brilliant). In Russian texts, there is gold, gold (amber?), smooth (polished by the hands of worshipers), iron (if a meteorite or fossil magnetic ore) stone. Merkaba is a star tetrahedron, a closed volume of an energy-information crystal-chariot for the ascension of the Spirit, Soul and body of a Human. "First Stone"< Краеугольный, Замковый >- the initial, axial point of any creation. "navel of the Earth" - the energy center of the planet, in which, according to legend, there is always a crystal ("unearthly Jewel"), magical Alatyr< подземный Китеж-Град, Ковчег, неземной Храм >. Folk tales place it at various points on Earth, usually in real energy centers / nodes (places of Power), such as in the vicinity of the village of Okunevo, on the Tara River, in Western Siberia. The stories about these lands, at first glance, are unrealistically fabulous, but modern scientists still cannot really explain all the anomalies and miracles that occur in such areas, on the local lakes. There is information in the open press that Elena and Nicholas Roerich, in the twenties of the last century, passing through Russia, carried with them some kind of old box with an unusual stone inside (? -<Ш>Chintamani, Lapis Exilis, "wandering in the world", part of the Holy Stone of the Grail / Wisdom, in a casket-ark), sent to them by the Mahatma. This casket is not accidentally shown in the famous painting "Portrait of Nicholas Roerich", painted by his son, Svyatoslav Roerich. The main part of this Stone (called the "Treasure of the World" - Norbu Rimpoche, a cosmic magnet from the center of our Universe, with the energy rhythm of its Life) - is located in the legendary Shambhala (Tibet, in the mountains of the Himalayas). The story is amazing, almost unbelievable. More information is available on other websites on the Internet. Holy Grail (Buddha Chalice) - symbol of the source< волшебного >elixir. Where it is now is not known for certain, except for the almost fabulous, fantastically UFO legends of the middle of the last century, now published by modern researchers on the Internet and in books, about the German base (number 211) in Antarctica (located somewhere then near the current South Geographic Pole, on the coast of Queen Maud Land, from the Atlantic Ocean, in warm karst caves with underground rivers and lakes, where for a long time, after the Second World War, hundreds, and maybe thousands of German soldiers lived, hid, specialists and civilians who sailed there in submarines). With a high probability, in those grottoes and catacombs-laboratories (artificially created with the help of mining equipment delivered there by ship a few years earlier) - the Nazis hid some especially valuable artifacts and sources of Ancient Knowledge, obtained by them around the world and found, discovered on the spot. And almost certainly, all this is securely and carefully hidden there, with numerous traps, to neutralize and go through which, maybe in the not very distant future, people< или, опередившие их - пришельцы, инопланетяне >can be done with the help of robots. Philosopher's Stone of Wisdom< эликсир жизни >- to obtain gold (enlightenment of man, immortality (eternal youth) of his<тела>-souls-<духа>in their synthesis). The spine (spinal cord) - "Mount Meru", with a peak in the head (pineal gland (m) and pituitary gland (g) - on the physical plane, halos and lights - on the next, higher planes). The ancient name of the Baltic Sea - "Alatyr" Rus - a native inhabitant of the Russian land Alatyr-stone in fairy tales and epics is found in the form of the phrase: "On the sea on the ocean, on an island on Buyan lies the Alatyr Stone." Spaces of the microcosm in Slavic mythology The first, outer circle of a concentrically arranged "world" (history, events) is most often the sea or a river. A pure field is a transitional area between worlds. The second area following the sea is an island (or immediately a stone) or a mountain (or mountains). The central locus of the mythological world is represented by a multitude of various objects, of which stones or trees can have proper names. All of them are usually located on an island or mountain, i.e. one way or another included in the previous locus as a central and maximally sacred point. The sea (sometimes a river) in Slavic mythology is that body of water (in the southern regions, as well as vast sandy and rocky deserts, for example, the Mongolian Gobi), which, according to traditional ideas, lies on the way to the kingdom of the dead and to another world . Old Slavonic "ocean", as well as - Okian, Okian, Ocean, Ocean. Kiyan-Sea Sea-Okiyan - the absolute periphery of the world (antilocus); It cannot be bypassed. Blue Sea - locus Black Sea - antilocus Khvalynsk Sea - Caspian or Black Sea. Antilocus Khorezmian - Aral Sea. Antilocus The Smorodina River is the mythical prototype of all rivers. It acts as a water frontier of the “other world”. On it is a viburnum bridge. Buyan Island - In folklore, Buyan is associated with the other world, the path to which, as you know, lies through the water. The island can serve as an arena for fairy-tale action.

Vocabulary is the totality of all the words that we use. Old 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 the language is an integral part of the history of the 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. Old, or obsolete, words are not actively used in our time, but are present in the vocabulary of the people, recorded in dictionaries and reference books. Often they can 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 a high grid

Vladimir the sun feasted,

He gave away his younger daughter

For the brave prince Ruslan."

There is a word "gridnitsa" here. Now it is not used, but in the era of Prince Vladimir it meant a large room in which the prince, along with his warriors, arranged festivities and feasts.

historicisms

Ancient words and their designation are of various kinds. According to scientists, they are divided into two large groups.

Historicisms are words that are not actively used now for the reason that the concepts they designate 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, are not typical for our everyday speech. But they are not completely out of use. Historicisms and archaisms are used by writers in order 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 happened at one time in other epochs in our homeland.

Archaisms

Unlike historicisms, archaisms designate those phenomena that we encounter in modern life. These are clever words, and their meanings do not differ from the meanings of words familiar to us, only they sound different. Archaisms are different. 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. There were many such words in the 19th century. This is a club (club), a store (curtain).

There is a group of archaisms with obsolete suffixes, for example, museum (museum), assistance (assistance), fisherman (fisherman). Most often we meet lexical archaisms, for example, eye - eye, right hand - right hand, shuytsa - left hand.

Like historicisms, archaisms are used to create a special world in fiction. So, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin often used archaic vocabulary to give pathos to his works. This is clearly seen in the example of the poem "Prophet".

Words from Ancient Russia

Ancient Russia gave a lot to modern culture. But then there was a special lexical environment, some words from which were preserved and in A some are no longer used at all. Old obsolete Russian words from that era give us an idea of ​​the origin

For example, old curses. Some of them very accurately reflect the negative qualities of a person. Hollow-breech is a talker, Ryuma is a crybaby, Tolokon forehead is a fool, Zakhukhrya is a disheveled person.

The meaning of old Russian words sometimes differed from the meanings of the same root 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 scholars. The names of the coins that were used in Ancient Russia are considered ancient. For coins that appeared in the eighth and ninth centuries in Russia and were brought from there, the names “kuna”, “nogata” and “reza” were used. Then the first Russian coins appeared - these are golden coins and silver coins.

Obsolete words from the 12th and 13th centuries

The pre-Mongol period in Russia, 12-13 centuries, is characterized by the development of architecture, which was then called architecture. Accordingly, then a layer of vocabulary appeared, associated with the construction and erection of buildings. Some of the words that appeared then have remained in the modern language, but the meaning of the old Russian words has changed over all this time.

The basis of the life of Russia in the 12th century was a fortress, which then had the name "detinets". A little later, in the 14th century, the term “Kremlin” appeared, which at that time also meant the city. The word "kremlin" can be an example of how old obsolete Russian words are changing. If now there is only one Kremlin, it is the residence of the head of state, then there were many Kremlins.

In the 11th and 12th centuries, cities and fortresses were built in Russia from wood. But they could not resist the onslaught of the Mongol-Tatars. The Mongols, having come to conquer the lands, simply swept away the wooden fortresses. Novgorod and Pskov resisted. For the first time the word "Kremlin" appears in the chronicle of Tver in 1317. Its synonym is the old word "silicon". Then the Kremlin was built in Moscow, Tula and Kolomna.

Socio-aesthetic role of archaisms in classical fiction

Ancient words, which are often discussed in scientific articles, were often used by Russian writers in order to make the speech of their work of art more expressive. Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin in his article described the process of creating "Boris Godunov" as follows: "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, where they were taken from. Most of the old words appear in his work “The Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich”. This, for example, is “you know”, “oh you are a goy”, Ali”. Also, Alexander Nikolayevich 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 recall the famous work of Ilf and Petrov "The Twelve Chairs". Here, the old 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" is found. Archaisms with Church Slavonic overtones are also used in another episode: “Father Fyodor was hungry. He wanted to be rich."

when using historicisms and archaisms

Historicisms and archaisms can greatly embellish fiction, but their inept use causes laughter. Old words, the discussion of which often becomes very lively, as a rule, should not be used in everyday speech. If you start asking a passer-by: “Why is your neck open in winter?”, then he will not understand you (meaning the neck).

In newspaper speech, too, there is an inappropriate use of historicisms and archaisms. For example: "The principal of the school welcomed young teachers who came to practice." The word "greeted" is synonymous with the word "greeted". Sometimes schoolchildren insert archaisms into their writings and thereby make sentences not very clear and even ridiculous. For example: "Olya ran in tears and told Tatyana Ivanovna about her offense." Therefore, if you want to use old words, their meaning, interpretation, meaning should be absolutely clear to you.

Obsolete words in fantasy and science fiction

Everyone knows that such genres as fantasy and science fiction have gained immense popularity in our time. It turns out that ancient words are widely used in fantasy works, and their meaning is not always clear to the modern reader.

Such concepts as "banner" and "finger", the reader can understand. But sometimes there are more complex words, such as "komon" and "nasad". I must say that publishing houses do not always approve of the excessive use of archaisms. But there are works in which the authors successfully find application for historicism and archaism. These are works from the "Slavic fantasy" series. For example, the novels of Maria Stepanova "Valkyrie", Tatyana Korostyshevskaya "Mother of the Four Winds", Maria Semenova "Wolfhound", Denis Novozhilov "Far Far Away. Throne War.

One Russian folk song says:

He brought three pockets:
The first pocket is with pies,
The second pocket is with nuts ...

It would seem, what an absurdity: what does it mean to “bring a pocket”?
Old dictionaries indicate that once in Russia the word " pocket” denoted a sack or bag that was attached to the outside of clothes.

Such pockets were sometimes hung on horse saddles, if necessary, they were not closed, but “ kept(revealed) wider».
Speaking these days "hold your pocket wider" we want to mock someone's overstated demands.

case tobacco

In the expression tobacco case both words are understandable, but why does their combination mean “very bad”, “hopeless”? You can understand this by looking at history. Let's do it together.

It turns out that the expression tobacco case came from the Volga barge haulers. When fording shallow bays or small tributaries of the Volga, barge haulers tied their pouches of tobacco around their necks so that they would not get wet. When the water was so high that it came up to the neck and the tobacco got wet, the barge haulers considered the transition impossible, and their position in these cases was very bad, hopeless.

smoke rocker

Smoke rocker - how is it? How can smoke be associated with a yoke on which buckets of water are carried? What does this expression mean?

Many years ago, the poor built in Russia the so-called chicken huts without chimneys. The smoke from the mouth of the stove poured directly into the hut and exited either through the “portage” window or through the open doors into the hallway. They say: “to love warmly - and to endure smoke”, “and a kurna hut, but a heat oven”. Over time, smoke began to be removed through pipes above the roof. Depending on the weather, the smoke goes either in a “column” - straight up, or in a “drag” - spreads down, or in a “rocker” - it falls in clubs and rolls over in an arc. By the way the smoke goes, they are guessing for a bucket or bad weather, for rain or wind. They say: smoke pillar, yoke - about any human hustle, a crowded quarrel with a dump and bustle, where you can’t make out anything, where “such a sodom that the dust is a column, the smoke is a yoke, either from a task, or from a dance.”

The soul has gone to the heels

When a person is very frightened, they can develop an unusually high running speed. The ancient Greeks were the first to notice this feature.
Describing in his Iliad how the enemies were frightened by the hero Hector, who suddenly appeared on the battlefield, Homer uses the following phrase: “Everyone trembled, and all the courage went to their feet ...”
Since then the expression "the soul has gone to the heels" we use when we talk about a person who has become a coward, very scared of something.

Let's start with the fact that no word middle-of-the-road not in Russian. Easter cakes will come out of the Easter cake, Easter cakes from the Easter cake. In fact, it is not necessary to send to the middle of nowhere, but to the middle of nowhere. Then justice will prevail, and we will be able to begin to explain this truly Russian turnover.
Kuligi and kulizhki were very famous and very common words in the North of Russia. When the coniferous forest "weakens", glades and clearings appear there. Grass, flowers and berries instantly begin to grow on them. These forest islands were called kuligs. Since pagan times, sacrifices have been made on kuligas: priests slaughtered deer, sheep, heifers, stallions, everyone ate their fill, got drunk.
When Christianity came to Russia and it began to crowd out paganism, a peasant came to the kuliga, built a hut, began to sow rye, barley, whole village artels appeared. When life became closer, children and nephews left the old people, and sometimes so far that they stopped reaching, they lived like in the middle of nowhere .

Under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the following order existed: requests, complaints or petitions addressed to the tsar were lowered into a special box nailed to a pole near the palace in the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow.

In those days, all documents were written on paper, rolled up in the form of a scroll. These scrolls were long, and therefore the box was long, or, as they said then, long.

Petitioners who put their petition in the box had to wait a long time for an answer, bow at the feet of the boyars and clerks, bring them gifts and bribes in order to get an answer to their complaint. The associated red tape and bribes were common. That is why such an unkind fame survived for many years long box. This expression means: shamelessly drag out the case.

First of all, let us recall that this is what they say about purchasing cheap, but at the same time quite worthwhile, necessary, good. It turns out that the word angrily can be used in a "good" sense? Having rummaged in dictionaries, we find out: earlier this word really meant “expensive”, “good”. What then is the pun: "Cheap, but ... expensive"? But it can be expensive not only for the price (especially if you remember that the word angry has a common root with the word a heart).

Some linguists argue that this expression arose as a contrast to the proverb: expensive, but cute - cheap, but rotten. It happens that and cheap and angry.

From pre-revolutionary courts, a lot of caustic expressions have come into our speech. Using them, we do not even think about how they happened.
You can often hear the expression " case burned out”, that is, someone has achieved his goal. Behind these words is the former blatant disgrace that was going on in the judicial system. Previously, the process could stop due to the fact that the documents collected by the investigation disappeared. In this case, the guilty could not be punished, and the innocent could not be acquitted.
A similar situation is described in Gogol's story, where two friends quarreled.

A pig that belonged to Ivan Ivanovich runs into the courtroom and eats up a complaint filed by a former friend of its owner, Ivan Nikiforovich. Of course, this is just a fun fantasy. But in reality, papers often burned, and not always by accident. Then the defendant, who wanted to stop or drag out the process, remained very pleased and said to himself: “Well, my case has burned out!”
So that -" case burned out”carries a reminder of those times when justice was administered not by judges, but by bribes.

In the bag

Several centuries ago, when mail in its present form did not exist, all messages were delivered by messengers on horseback. A lot of robbers then wandered along the roads, and a bag with a package could attract the attention of robbers. Therefore, important papers, or, as they used to be called, affairs, sewn under the lining of hats or caps. This is where the expression came from: case in the hat” and means that everything is fine, everything is in order. About the successful completion, the outcome of something.

Woe onion

When a person cries, it means that something happened to him. That's just the reason why tears well up in the eyes, not in all cases is associated with some kind of misfortune. When you peel or cut an onion, tears flow in a stream. And the reason for that is grief onion».

This proverb is also known in other countries, only there it is slightly modified. The Germans, for example, have the phrase "onion tears". These tears people shed over trifles.

Expression "mountain onion" also means minor troubles, much sadness because of which it is not worth it.

deaf grouse

An experienced hunter carefully approaches a black grouse carelessly sitting on a branch. The bird, unaware of anything, is busy filling itself with its intricate singing: flowing, clicking and squirting fills everything around. The black grouse will not hear how the hunter sneaks up to an acceptable distance and unloads his double-barreled shotgun.
It has long been observed that the current black grouse loses its hearing for a while. Hence the name of one of the breeds of black grouse - capercaillie.

Expression "deaf grouse" refers to gaping, sleepy, not noticing people around. Although by nature these birds are very sensitive and attentive.

Agree that sometimes we happen to see situations when the person responsible for some event can run back and forth with the words: - there is no highlight of the program! In this case, everyone understands that even he is a little to blame for this. Returning home from a concert, we can say that the highlight of the program is a folk singer or other outstanding person who was on stage.

In a word, highlight of the program is a unique number or performance that can arouse genuine interest among the public. It is known that this phraseological unit was interpreted in many languages, but it has survived unchanged to our time.

This proverb arose as a mockery and mockery of the numerous tourists who in the 19th century traveled in huge crowds to the so-called foreign places, and they did it so quickly that they did not even manage to enjoy the natural beauty and color. But in the future, they praised everything “seen” so much that everyone was only amazed.

Also in 1928, the great writer Maxim Gorky also used this expression in one of his speeches, which further consolidated it among the common people. Well, today it is often used in the bohemia of society, which also boasts of its knowledge of the world and numerous travels around the world.

From another source:

Ironic. Without going into details, hastily, superficially (to do something).

Compare: in haste; on a live thread; on a living hand; with the opposite meaning: along and across.

“For travel essays, the editors are going to send another person to the track, this must be done thoroughly, and not like that, with a cavalry charge, gallop across Europe."

Y. Trifonov. "Quenching Thirst"

Lying like a gray gelding

Lying like a gray gelding- this proverb, which can often be heard among the people, is quite difficult to interpret. Agree, it is difficult to explain why exactly the gelding, which is a representative of the animal world, was awarded such a title. And if we take into account the fact that the suit is being specified - gray gelding, then there are even more questions. Many who study this phenomenon say that everything is connected with a mistake that occurred in the memory of our people. After all, this is simply not explained by any other facts.
The well-known linguist Dahl said that for many years the word " lying" , used today, could come from the word "rushing" as a result of the incorrect pronunciation of one of the speakers. Initially, the gray gelding boasts tremendous strength and endurance.
But at the same time, one should not forget that gray gelding nothing significantly different from bay or gray horses, which also boast endurance and quick wits. From this it follows that the masses could hardly simply exclude them from the phraseological unit and single out the gray gelding.

To date, you can find another rather interesting interpretation. It is believed that for the first time this phraseological unit originated in the memories of a man named Sivens-Mering, who had the fame of an impudent liar. There were bad rumors about him, so many said - lies like Seans-Mehring . Perhaps, after many years of using this option, the one that we often use today has been established.
There are other opinions that completely refute previous versions. It is said that there are other interpretations of it, such as "lazy as a gray gelding" and others. Take, for example, the well-known Gogol hero Khlestakov, who often uses the expression “ stupid as a gray gelding". This also should include the concept of "bullshit", which means nonsense and complete nonsense. In a word, phraseology has not yet been able to give a clear interpretation of the expression " lying like a gray gelding”, but this does not prevent us from using it in daily communication.

Get into a mess

manual slip

Now rope, twine, ropes are made in factories, and not so long ago it was handicraft. Entire villages were engaged in it.
In the streets there were poles with hooks, from which the ropes stretched to wooden wheels. They were rotated, running in a circle, by horses. All these devices of rope artisans were called.
It was necessary to carefully monitor so as not to catch on the tourniquet tightly coiled in the hole. If the tip of a jacket or shirt gets into weaving - goodbye clothes! It shreds its prosak, tears it up, and sometimes even maims the person himself.

V. I. Dal explains: “Prosak is the space from the spinning wheel to the sleigh, where the twine scurries and spins ..; if you get there with the end of your clothes, with your hair, you will twist it and you won’t get out; hence the proverb."

That's where the dog is buried!

As the story goes, the experienced Austrian warrior Sigismund Altensteig had a favorite dog that accompanied him on all military campaigns. It so happened that fate threw Sigismund to the Dutch lands, where he found himself in a very dangerous situation. But a devoted four-legged friend quickly came to the rescue and saved the owner, sacrificing his life. To pay tribute to the dog, Altensteig arranged a solemn funeral, and decorated the grave with a monument commemorating the heroic deed of the dog.
But after a couple of centuries, it became very difficult to find the monument, only some locals could help tourists find it.

Then the expression " That's where the dog is buried!”, meaning “find out the truth”, “find what you are looking for”.

There is another version of the origin of this phrase. Before the final naval battle between the Persian and Greek fleets, the Greeks loaded all the children, the elderly and women into transport ships and sent them away from the battlefield.
The devoted dog of Xanthippus, the son of Arifron, swam over the ship and, meeting with the owner, died of exhaustion. Xanthippus, amazed by the act of the dog, erected a monument to his pet, which became the personification of devotion and courage.

Some linguists believe that the saying was invented by treasure hunters who are afraid of evil spirits that guard the treasures. To hide their true goals, they said "black dog" and a dog, which meant, respectively, evil spirits and treasure. Based on this assumption, under the phrase " That's where the dog is buried” meant “This is where the treasure is buried.”

free will

Perhaps to some this expression seems to be complete nonsense: like " butter oily". But do not rush to conclusions, but rather listen.

Many years ago, ancient Russian appanage princes wrote in their treaties with each other: “And the boyars, and the children of the boyars, and the servants, and the peasants free will…»

For a free will, therefore, it was a right, a privilege, it meant freedom of action and deeds, it allowed him to live on earth as long as he lives, and go wherever he pleases. Only free people enjoyed this freedom, as sons with fathers, brothers with brothers, nephews with uncles, and so on were considered in those days.

And there were also serfs and slaves who forever belonged to the masters. They could be pawned as a thing, sold and even killed without trial or investigation.

Simonyi: the will to the wave, the way to the walker;

Dal: free will - paradise saved, wild field, damn the swamp.

To be born in a shirt

In one of the poems of the Russian poet Koltsov there are lines:

Oh, on an unfortunate day
In the untalented hour
I'm shirtless
Born into the world...

To uninitiated people, the last two lines may seem very strange. You might think that the lyrical hero regrets that in the womb he did not have time to pull on a shirt, or, to put it in an understandable language, a shirt.

Once a shirt was called not only an element of clothing, but also various films. The thin membrane under the eggshell could also bear this name.

Sometimes it happens that the head of the child, when he is born, may be covered with a film, which soon falls off. According to ancient beliefs, a child born with such a film will be happy in life. And the French even came up with a special name for it - “ happy hat».

These days, the thought that a small film on the head of a newborn will make him lucky is a smile. However, in a figurative sense, we often use this expression when we talk about people who are lucky in something. Now the phrase is used only as a saying, and the folk sign has long sunk into oblivion.

By the way, not only in Russian there is such a proverb. Europeans also use similar expressions, for example, " be born in a cap". The English have another phrase that has the same meaning: "to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth." But it came from a different custom. The fact is that in Foggy Albion it is customary to give newborns spoons made of silver for good luck.

They don’t go to a foreign monastery with their charter

Once upon a time, the routine of the entire monastic life was determined monastic statutes. One monastery was guided by one charter, the other - by another. Moreover: in the old days, some monasteries had their own judicial charters and had the right to independently judge their people in all their sins and transgressions.

Expression: " They don’t go to a foreign monastery with their charter"This is used in a figurative sense in the sense that one must obey the established rules, customs in society, at home, and not establish one's own.

Balbeshka Stoerosovaya

So they say about a stupid, stupid person.
“Excuse me, why did I say such a stupid, awkward thing to you, it jumped off my tongue, I don’t know myself, I’m a fool, a dumbass stout-haired” (Yu. Bondarev).

Burnt theater artist

About a person whose real abilities or capabilities do not correspond to their supposed level.

“Death is the same for everyone, the same for everyone, and no one can be freed from it. And while she, death, lies in wait for you in an unknown place, with inevitable torment, and there is fear from her in you, you are not a hero and not a god, just an artist from a burnt theater, amusing himself and bloated listeners.

(V. Astafiev).

This idiom (set phrase) is intended to evaluate non-professionals. A couple of centuries ago, the profession of a theater actor was, to put it mildly, not prestigious.

Hence the disdain that comes through in the phrase: firstly, an actor, and secondly, without a theater. In other words, the circus left, but the clowns stayed.
Because the burned theater is not the theater that was destroyed by the fire, but the one that went bankrupt due to the inept play of the actors.

Appetite comes with eating

About the increase in someone's needs as they are satisfied.

The expression came into use after it was used by the French writer F. Rabelais (1494-1553) in his novel Gargantua and Pantagruel (1532).

Guardian angel

According to religious beliefs, a creature that is the patron of a person.

“He prayed every time until he felt on his forehead, as it were, someone's fresh touch; this, he thought then, is the guardian angel accepting me ”(I. Turgenev).

About a person who shows constant attention and care to someone.

beat with a forehead

Ancient antiquity emanates from this primordially Russian expression. And it went from Moscow palace customs. The boyars closest to the tsar used to gather in the "front" of the Kremlin Palace early in the morning and after dinner at vespers. Seeing the king, they began to bow, touching the floor with their foreheads. And others did it with such zeal that even tapping was heard: appreciate, they say, sovereign, our love and zeal.

Fresh legend, but hard to believe.
As he was famous for, whose neck bent more often;
As not in the war, but in the world they took it with their foreheads -
Knocked on the floor without regret!

A. Griboedov, "Woe from Wit"

Thus, beat with a forehead means first of all bow”, Well, its second meaning is “ask for something”, “complain”, “thank”.

“Oriental splendor reigned at the Court of our kings, who, following the Asian custom, forced the ambassadors to speak only on their knees and fall to the ground before the throne, from which the common expression then came: I strike with my forehead.”

The evidence of the existence of the earthly bow given at the same time dates back no earlier than the 16th century, since only Ivan the Terrible in 1547 was the first to accept the permanent title of “tsar” in Moscow. It turns out that the history of the phrase "beat with a forehead" began twice. At first, they were literally beaten with a forehead, admitting their guilt, and with the introduction of Christianity, they worshiped the Lord God. Then they “beat with the forehead” in words, complaining, thanking and greeting, and, finally, they introduced the custom of bowing to the ground to the sovereign at court, which was also called “beating with the forehead”.

Then, in the first case, the expression meant not “bow to the earth”, but “bow from the waist”, in the form when, when asking for forgiveness in parochial disputes, the offender, standing on the lower step of the porch, bowed to his master from the waist. At the same time, the strong one stood on the top step. A waist bow, thus, was accompanied by a petition, a knock of the forehead on the steps.

Rake heat with the wrong hands

This means: enjoy the results of someone else's work.

And what kind of heat are we talking about?

Heat is burning coals. And, by the way, raking them out of the oven was not at all an easy task for the hostess: it would be easier and easier for her to do it “by someone else's hands”.

In the common people there is also a rougher version:

"Ride someone else's dick to paradise."

Beat the thumbs

To beat the buckets - to mess around.

What is buckets ? Surely the word must have its own meaning?

Oh sure. When in Russia they slurped cabbage soup and ate porridge with wooden spoons, tens of thousands of handicraftsmen beat the buckets , that is, they pricked linden wood logs into blanks for the master-spoon. This work was considered trifling, it was usually performed by an apprentice. Therefore, she became a model not of deeds, but of idleness.

Of course, everything is known in comparison, and this work seemed easy only against the backdrop of hard peasant labor.

And not everyone will succeed now well bucks to beat .

Know by heart

What is the meaning of these words - children know no worse than adults. Know by heart - means, for example, to learn a poem perfectly, to solidify a role and, in general, to understand something perfectly well.

And there was a time when know by heart , check by heart taken almost literally. This saying arose from the custom of checking the authenticity of gold coins, rings and other precious metal products by tooth. You bite the coin with your teeth, and if there is no dent left on it, then it is genuine, not fake. Otherwise, you could get a fake one: hollow inside or filled with cheap metal.

The same custom gave rise to another vivid figurative expression: crack a man , that is, to thoroughly know its advantages, disadvantages, intentions.

Take rubbish out of the hut

Usually this expression is used with negation: " Do not take dirty linen out of the hut!».

Its figurative meaning, I hope, is known to everyone: quarrels, squabbles between close people, or secrets of a narrow circle of people should not be disclosed.

And here's the real meaning of it phraseological unit Let's try to explain now, although it will not be easy. This expression is connected with evil spirits and, by the way, there are a lot of such in the Russian language. According to ancient beliefs, rubbish from the hut must be burned in the oven, so that evil people do not get it. The so-called quackery "rejections" or "relations" were very common in the past. A branch could be, for example, a bundle thrown at a crossroads to "guard" against illness. Coal or furnace ash was usually wrapped in such a bundle - oven .

She was especially popular with healers, because it was in the oven that rubbish from the hut was burned, in which hair and other items necessary for witchcraft were found. It is no accident, therefore, that the ban on dirty linen in public came into use in the Russian language.

It is written with a pitchfork on the water

The expression "Written with a pitchfork on the water" comes from Slavic mythology.

Today it means an unlikely, doubtful and hardly possible event. In Slavic mythology, mythical creatures living in reservoirs were called pitchforks. According to legend, they could predict fate by writing it on the water. Until now, "forks" in some Russian dialects mean "circles".
During divination by water, pebbles were thrown into the river and, according to the shape of the circles formed on the surface, their intersections and sizes, they predicted the future. And since these predictions are not accurate and rarely come true, they began to talk about an unlikely event.

In not so ancient times, gypsies with bears walked around the villages and staged various performances. They led the bears on a leash tied to a nose ring. Such a ring made it possible to keep the bears in check and perform the necessary tricks. During the performances, the gypsies performed various tricks, cleverly deceiving the audience.

Over time, the expression began to be applied in a broader sense - "to mislead someone."

Goal like a falcon

In the old days, for the capture of besieged cities, wall-beating guns were used, which were called "falcons". It was a log bound with iron or a cast-iron beam, reinforced with chains. Swinging it, they hit the walls and destroyed them.

The figurative expression "goal like a falcon" means "poor to the last extreme, nowhere to get money, even beat your head against the wall."

Keep me out

The expression "Chur me" came to us from ancient times.
Since ancient times, to this day, we say "Chur me", "Chur mine", "Chur in half." Chur is the oldest name for the keeper of the house, hearth (Chur - Shchur - Ancestor).

It is fire, mental and physical, that gives people warmth, light, comfort and goodness in every sense, is the main custodian of ancestral heritage, family happiness.

At old words, as well as dialectal can be divided into two different groups: archaisms and historicisms .

Archaisms- these are words that, due to the emergence of new words, have fallen into disuse. But their synonyms are in modern Russian.

For example:

right hand- right hand, cheeks- cheeks, ramen- shoulders, loins- waist and so on.

But it is worth noting that archaisms, nevertheless, may differ from modern synonymous words. These differences may be in the morphemic composition ( fisherman- fisherman, friendship - friendship), in their lexical meaning ( stomach- a life, the guest- merchant,), in grammatical design ( at the ball- at the ball fulfill- perform) and phonetic features ( mirror- mirror, Guishpanese- Spanish). Many words are completely obsolete, but still they have modern synonyms. For example: ruin- death or injury hope- to hope and firmly believe, so that- to. And in order to avoid possible errors in the interpretation of these words, when working with works of art, it is strongly recommended to use a dictionary of obsolete words and dialect phrases, or an explanatory dictionary.

historicisms- these are words that denote such phenomena or objects that have completely disappeared or ceased to exist as a result of the further development of society.

Many words that denoted various household items of our ancestors, phenomena and things that were somehow connected with the economy of the past, the old culture, the socio-political system that once existed, became historicisms. Many historicisms are found among words that are somehow related to military topics.

For example:

Redoubt, chain mail, visor, squeaker etc.

Most obsolete words refer to clothing items and household items: prosak, svetets, valley, camisole, armyak.

Also, historicisms include words that denote ranks, professions, positions, estates that once existed in Russia: tsar, lackey, boyar, stolnik, equestrian, barge hauler,tinker etc. Manufacturing activities such as Konka and manufactory. The phenomena of patriarchal life: purchase, dues, corvée and others. Lost technologies such as mead and tinning.

Words that arose in the Soviet era also became historicisms. These include words such as: food detachment, NEP, Makhnovist, educational program, Budenovets and many others.

Sometimes it is very difficult to distinguish between archaisms and historicisms. This is connected both with the revival of the cultural traditions of Russia, and with the frequent use of these words in proverbs and sayings, as well as other works of folk art. Such words include words denoting measures of length or measurements of weight, naming Christian and religious holidays, and others and others.

Dictionary of obsolete words by letters of the alphabet: