Depending on the reasons why a particular word belongs to the category of obsolete, historicisms and archaisms are distinguished.
historicisms
- these are words that have fallen into disuse because the objects and phenomena that they denoted have disappeared from life.Historicisms do not have synonyms, since this is the only designation of the disappeared concept and the object or phenomenon behind it.
Historicisms are quite diverse thematic groups of words:
1) Names of ancient clothes: zipun, camisole, caftan, kokoshnik, zhupan, shushun, etc.;
2) Names of monetary units: altyn, grosh, polushka, hryvnia, etc.;
3) Names of titles: boyar, nobleman, king, count, prince, duke, etc.;
4) Names of officials: city governor, clerk, constable, etc.;
5) Names of weapons: pishchal, shestoper, unicorn (cannon), etc.;
6) Administrative names: volost, county, district, etc.
For polysemantic words, one of the meanings can become historicism. For example, the word people has the following meanings:
1) Plural of the noun man;
2) Other, strangers to someone;
3) Persons used in any case, personnel;
4) Servant, worker in a manor house.
The word people in the first three meanings is included in the active dictionary. The fourth meaning of this word is outdated, so we have semantic historicism, which forms the lexeme human in the meaning of "the room in which the servant lives."
Archaisms
- these are words denoting concepts, objects, phenomena that exist at the present time; for various (primarily extralinguistic) reasons, archaisms were forced out of active use by other words.Consequently, archaisms have synonyms in modern Russian, for example: sail (n.) - sail., Psyche (n.) - soul; Overseas (adj.) - foreign; Koi (pronoun) - which; This (pronoun) - this one; Poelku (union) - because, etc.
Depending on whether the whole word, the meaning of the word, the phonetic design of the word or a separate word-forming morpheme becomes obsolete, archaisms are divided into several groups:
1) Proper lexical archaisms are words that have completely fallen out of use and have passed into a passive vocabulary: lzya - you can; thief - thief; aki—how; piit - a poet; maiden - teenager, etc.
2) Lexico-semantic archaisms are words that have one or more meanings obsolete:
Belly - “life” (not on the stomach, but to beat to death); Itukan - "statue";
Scoundrels - "unfit for military service"; Shelter - "port, pier", etc.
3) Lexico-phonetic archaisms are words in which, as a result of historical development, the sound design (sound shell) has changed, but the meaning of the word has been preserved in full:
Mirror - mirror;
Iroism - heroism;
Eighteen - eighteen;
Passport - passport;
Calm - style (poetic), etc.
A special group is made up of accentological archaisms - that is, words whose stress has changed (from Latin Accentum - emphasis, stress):
Muses "ka-mu" language;
Suffi "ks - su" ffix; Philoso "f ~ filo" sof and others.
4) Lexical and derivational archaisms are words in which individual morphemes or a word-formation model are obsolete:
Dol - valley; Friendship - friendship; Shepherd - shepherd; Fisherman - fisherman; Phantasm - fantasy, etc.
The archaization of words is not related to their origin. The following types of catches can become obsolete:
1) Originally Russian words: labs, outcast, lie, endova, etc.;
2) Old Slavonicisms: smooth, one, green, cold, child, etc.
3) Borrowed words: satisfaction - satisfaction (about a duel); Sikurs - help; Fortecia (fortress), etc.
The role of obsolete words in the Russian language is varied. Historicisms in the special scientific literature are used for the most accurate description of the era. In works of fiction on historical themes, historicisms and archaisms help to recreate the color of the era, and are also a means of speech characterization of characters.
Examples of such use of obsolete vocabulary are the novels “Razin Stepan” by A.P. Chapygin, "Peter I" A.H. Tolstoy, "Emelyan Pugachev" V.Ya. Shishkov, "Ivan the Terrible" by V.I. Kostyleva and others.
In the text of any of these works of art, you can find various types of archaisms:
This is what I found out: according to Tatya Fomka, thieves were caught outside the Nikitsky Gate (Chapygin).
Archaisms can be used to create solemnity of style, which is especially characteristic of the poetry of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Examples are the works of A.N. Radishcheva, G.R. Derzhavin, V.A. Zhukovsky, A.S. Pushkin and others.
Archaisms can also be used to create comic and satirical effects: Finally, look at your own person - and there, first of all, you will meet the chapter, and then you will not leave the belly and other parts unmarked (S. Shch.)
Every person who wants to learn and develop, always strives to learn something new and useful for himself. Vocabulary is considered especially important, which has not only become an indicator of erudition for a long time, but can also help in the most unexpected life situation. In this article, you will be able to learn about and historicism. and context can also be useful for especially inquisitive people to familiarize themselves with.
historicisms
Historicisms include the names of objects that were used by our ancestors, and today they are found only in museums. For example, the word "squeaker", which refers to an ancient type of weapon used in Russia several centuries ago. The word "axe", which denoted one of the types of combat accessories, also belongs to historicism. It was something similar to a modern ax, but with two blades.
How did historicisms appear?
The main reason that over time historicisms appeared in the language was the change in the habitual life of our ancestors, customs, the development of science and culture. So, for example, the disappeared types of clothing - armyak, caftan, camisole - were no longer used, and this led to the disappearance of their names from the language. Now such concepts can only be found in historical descriptions. There are many words that have ceased to be used, and now they are classified as "historicisms". An example of this is the concepts that in one way or another concerned serfdom in Russia. Among them - quitrent, corvée, tax.
Archaisms
This category includes words that denote things and concepts that still exist, but with changed names. For example, our ancestors instead of the modern "this" said "this", and "very" sounded like "green". Historicisms and which are found in many literary works are by no means always completely replaced by other words, they can only partially change. For example, phonetically or morphologically.
How did archaisms appear?
This kind of obsolete words appeared due to the fact that over time any vocabulary undergoes changes, evolves and assimilates with other languages. Thus, some words are replaced by others, but with the same meaning. This is the part of the vocabulary that has outlived its own, but does not completely disappear from the language. These words are preserved in literature, documents, and so on. For creation, they are completely necessary so that you can recreate the flavor of the described era.
Phonetic archaisms
This type includes modern words and concepts that differ from obsolete ones by only a few sounds, sometimes only by one. For example, such a word as “piit” can be attributed to phonetic archaisms, which eventually evolved into “poet”, and “fire” turned into “fire”.
Morphological archaisms
This category includes words that are outdated in their structure. These include the noun "ferocity" which became "fierce", the adjective "nervous" which evolved into "nervous", the verb "to collapse" which now sounds like "collapse" and many others.
Semantic archaisms
Archaisms and historicisms, examples of words found everywhere, often lose their true meaning over time. For example, the modern "shame" used to mean nothing more than "spectacle", and the old "ordinary" meant something that was done in one day (for example, "ordinary way"), and not at all "ordinary".
Modern usage
Sometimes these obsolete words change so much that they are used in a new sense. This can be said about both archaisms and historicisms. An example of this is the word "dynasty". Some time ago it stopped being used, but now it is back in use. If earlier it could only be combined with such words as "royal" and "monarchical", now the scope of its use has expanded significantly. Now you can hear about the dynasty of lumberjacks or miners, who imply that this profession is inherited from father to son. Sometimes obsolete words can be found in an ironic context.
Set expressions
Obsolete words continue to fully function in the language as a part. Thus, some historicisms have been preserved. Example: the word "buckles" is still used in the language as part of the phrase "beat the bucks", which means "to mess around". The same can be said about the stable expression "to sharpen the folly", that is, "to chat incessantly."
Degeneration VS Rebirth
It also happens that words that linguists have already boldly attributed to historicisms have come back into use due to the fact that the concepts they denoted have begun to be used again. This can also happen if something new has been created that is in some way similar to or related to an obsolete concept. Now such words hardly resemble historicisms. Example: charity evening, midshipman.
Conclusion
It should be noted that although all the above-mentioned obsolete words are rather a passive layer of vocabulary, they do not cease to play an important role in it. When reading the works of such eminent writers as Tolstoy, Dostoevsky or Mayakovsky, one can very often come across historicisms and archaisms, and in order to accurately understand the idea that the author wanted to convey, one must be aware of their meaning. Therefore, in case you come across an unfamiliar word, it is best to consult an authoritative dictionary.
There are many special categories of words in Russian. They help people to describe certain things and phenomena in more detail. One of these special categories of words are historicisms. In this article we will talk about this group, as well as the difference between historicisms and archaisms. Moreover, consider examples of historic words and their meanings.
What is historicism?
The Russian language, like any other language, is a constantly changing living organism, which often takes on new forms. The modern Russian language is very different from the one used by the first princes. It went through several stages in its development. There are three stages of historical development:
- Old Russian language.
- Old Russian language.
- period of the national language.
It sounded different in different historical epochs. Due to constant development, the lexical composition has changed a lot. As an example, let's take the documents of Ancient Russia. A simple layman is unlikely to be able to understand what is written in the text. There are too many incomprehensible words, and familiar words have a completely different meaning. Thanks to scientific and technological progress, a large number of new concepts have appeared in the vocabulary that enrich the vocabulary of the language. You can also increase active vocabulary if you borrow foreign words to add variety to your vocabulary. This rule also works vice versa. Some words are no longer used, because many items have disappeared from everyday life. So the words that described these objects go out of use. These words are called historicisms. The picture below is an example of historicism.
What is archaism?
Archaism means something a little different. They have one thing in common with historicisms, because of which they are often confused. Historicisms with archaisms are often used in old works. But there is a rather big difference between them: if historicisms describe objects that have disappeared from our lives, then archaisms are an outdated form of naming an object that exists. As an example, let's take the word that we know from children's books - gold. This is archaism, because this word has a modern form - gold.
What is the difference between them?
The difference is big enough. One small detail will help determine what is in front of you, historicism or archaism. The second has commonly used synonyms. Of course, these two concepts are rather conditional. Words fall out of use for various reasons. In some cases, they return to active vocabulary after a long time period. Here is an example of historicism words that returned to circulation after a while: lieutenant, minister, officer, etc. Linguists create special dictionaries in which such words are entered.
Another important difference between archaisms and historicisms is that archaisms have 3 degrees of obsolescence. They are specially distinguished by linguists to track the old age of the vocabulary of the language.
What can be the conclusion? Many words fall out of frequent use and pass into a passive state or disappear. For words that have passed into a passive state, there are two options: if they were replaced by others, the word became archaic; if the object itself has disappeared, then it is historicism. They differ in meaning, this must not be forgotten. Below in the picture you can see an example of historicism and archaism. So you can more clearly understand the difference between them.
Examples of words-historicisms and archaisms in the Russian language and their meanings
Historicisms can be divided into several categories, depending on which historical period the vocabulary belongs to. Examples of historicisms in Russian:
- Tiun is a princely steward.
- Smerd is a peasant who is directly dependent on the prince.
- Bratina - composition for serving alcoholic beverages.
- Nepman is an entrepreneur in the USSR during the NEP period.
- Boyar - the highest stratum of society in ancient Russia.
- Likbez is a program for the eradication of illiteracy.
- Tax in kind - food tax levied on farms, introduced instead of food appropriations.
- Altyn - a coin equal to three kopecks.
- The landowner is a landowner belonging to the privileged class.
- Prince - the title of a person close to the throne.
- Count is the title of a nobleman.
- Onuchi - windings for legs under boots.
- A clerk is a clerk and clerk in the clerk's office.
- Short fur coat - a short sheepskin coat.
Let's look at examples of archaic words:
- Eyes - eyes.
- Eight - eight.
- Finger - finger.
- An adversary is a villain, an enemy, a scoundrel.
- The belly is life.
- Lanites - cheeks.
- Mouth - lips, mouth.
- Shelom - a helmet.
- Night is night.
- Speak - speak.
- Right hand - right hand.
- Voice is a voice.
- Just now - a long time ago.
- Evening - last night.
Here are also examples of words that became historicisms, but then returned to active vocabulary:
- Hryvnia. Initially - a neck decoration in the form of a hoop, later - the monetary unit of Ukraine
- Officer. After the revolution, officer ranks were removed from the army, but in 1943 it was returned.
- Shoulder straps. Also, after the revolution, they were removed from the military uniform, but in 1943 they were returned.
- Ministry. They were liquidated after the revolution, in the 1950s they were created anew instead of the people's commissariats.
Again, the difference between these categories of words is clearly visible. Historicism can only be expressed by a term, archaism by a synonym. There is another rather interesting feature. Historicisms are more common in history textbooks and are used there as scientific terms. Archaisms are closer to the language, just one word has been replaced by another. So we have seen examples and meanings of historicisms, so now the reader will have a clearer idea on this topic.
The role of historicisms and archaisms in literary works
Special vocabulary helps to recreate the historical flavor in the works, so that the reader can fully immerse himself in the atmosphere of the time being described. Also, poets do not disdain special vocabulary. It helps to create a solemn atmosphere in the poem. Usually poets use archaisms to give speech a higher poetic sound. Another important detail that special vocabulary helps to emphasize is the display of comic and satirical moments. Especially often this property was used by Saltykov-Shchedrin to create ironic situations and ridicule human vices.
What cultural role does obsolete vocabulary play?
The use of such vocabulary by writers expands the reader's understanding of the historical period and Russian culture. Thanks to this, a person gains additional knowledge. This knowledge will help form a full-fledged personality who knows how to get to know the world with the help of languages. A person learns to think broadly, to be spiritually and morally strong, aesthetically educated, to love and respect the history of our country.
Conclusion
Special vocabulary plays a big role in the Russian language. With its help, we can recreate the atmosphere of the past, which writers often use in their works. Its role is difficult to overestimate. After all, these words describe historical objects that we will never see. That is why it is considered "passive vocabulary", because it is quite difficult to hear historicisms and archaisms. They can be considered the historical heritage of our language, so they need to be protected. Even though this vocabulary has fallen out of active use, most people know it and, meeting it in literary works, understand it. And without the use of archaisms and historicisms in literature, works lose their solemnity and originality. In this article, we looked at examples of historicism and archaism, which helped us figure out what it is and what is the difference between them.
The average high school student is often confused in terminology, trying to answer the question of how archaisms differ from historicisms. These groups of words are obsolete and belong to the passive vocabulary. However, archaisms and historicisms can still be found in fiction and cinema, so it would be useful to find out the difference between them.
Features and examples of archaisms
Depending on why this or that lexeme has become obsolete, they are divided into archaisms and historicisms. The difference is that the former include words denoting objects, phenomena, processes and concepts, existing and currently. For some reason, most often not related to the language itself, they are replaced by more modern counterparts. The process of emergence of archaisms is called archaization. In art, imitation of the style of antiquity is called archaism.
Consequently, any archaism has a synonym in modern Russian. For example: instead of the old Russian “sail”, “sail” is currently used, instead of “memory” - “memory”, instead of the union “kol” - the union “if”.
Depending on what exactly is outdated in what makes up the word: the whole word, a separate word-forming morpheme, meaning or sound - archaisms are divided into several groups:
Characteristics and originality of historicisms
Historicisms are called speech units denoting phenomena that have completely disappeared from our lives. Usually, they are an attribute of a certain era and die with her. No phenomenon - no concept. This is how historicism can be characterized.
In the study of historicisms, it is no coincidence that one speaks of concepts and not of words. After all, they are preserved in historical sources, archives, letters. Some of them can mimic. So, "elbow", which was a measure of length, began to denote a part of the body. The state institution “order” died along with the institution, however, the lexeme “order” exists in modern Russian in the meaning of “instruction, assignment”. The word "throw away" has lost the meaning of "to put up for sale a product that is in short supply."
Historicisms are preserved in the language as a tribute to the era. In historicism and archaism, the difference lies precisely in the presence or absence of synonyms. Thus, historicisms do not and cannot have synonyms, because the phenomena, concepts, processes and objects that they denoted cannot be brought back to life. This is the main difference between archaisms and historicisms.
Historisms can also be divided into several groups:
In polysemic words, one or more meanings can become historicism. For example, "people" in the sense of "servant" are morally obsolete and are not used, while it is quite suitable for denoting the plural for the lexeme "person".
The role of obsolete words in modern language
Obsolete words are present in the passive vocabulary of any language, no matter Russian, English or Portuguese. Archaisms are often used in works of art, poetry and prose. Such words fill text in color, convey the characteristic features of the era, serve as a means of enhancing artistry. Give solemnity.
Historicisms are also used in works of fiction. They are used to realistically recreate the era in which the action of the work unfolds, they are introduced both into the description of the surrounding phenomena and into the dialogues of the characters.
A broader interpretation of the very word "historicism" is also acceptable. It can denote the principle of accurately reflecting the reality of a certain historical era without the subjectivity of descendants and contemporaries in order to objectively convey reality. There is also such a thing as "historicism of the word."
From obsolete words, you can make a separate dictionary. Even though they belong to the inactive vocabulary of ours, and indeed of any language, archaisms and historicisms still make up its flavor, giving the language unique features.
