In modern Russian, a word with a negative meaning can also have a positive meaning. Take, for example, "stupid". Many are accustomed to using this vernacular as an insult to someone / something, not even realizing that there is an opposite meaning to this word.
Etymology of the noun "fool"
There is a controversy among scientists regarding the origin of the word "fool". Several versions have been put forward, affecting Kievan Rus and ancient Latin. So, according to one version, the word "fool" comes from the Latin dura. Dura (fool) - these are such qualities of a person as "severe, firm, courageous".
According to another version, the word "fool" comes from the ancient word "friend". In the old days, there was an opinion that if you give a child a name at birth, then the devil himself will come for him and take him into his possessions. Concerned parents began to give their children "numeral" names. That is, for example, they called the first child in the family Pervak, the second - Vtorak. Accordingly, the third and fourth - Tretyak andThursday. And if a fifth child was born, then he was called Drugak, which means "another next child, the smallest child."
Over time, the word "friend" was simplified to "fool" and given it a common negative meaning.
It is noteworthy that the name from Russian folk tales Ivan the Fool carries the meaning of "the youngest of all sons", and not "stupid, blockhead Ivan".
Fool: the meaning of the word
The word "fool" refers to polysemantic words. In total, it has 3 values:
- A fool, a fool is a woman, a girl, a girl who does stupid things that cause negative emotions in people around her. It is noteworthy that for some time in the old days, stupid men were also called fools.
- In metallurgy, metal (non-ferrous metals, cast iron), smelted in the form of a bar, is called a fool. It also has another name - pig, which is in no way connected with the well-known artiodactyl with a snout nose.
- In common parlance, a fool is a large, bulky, heavy object/object. In Ancient Russia, this noun served as a synonym for the word "ram", which could break through the gate.
Phraseological units and set phrases with the word "fool"
The vernacular "fool" forms the basis of many phraseological units and set phrases. Below are some of these phraseological units and expressions:
- "Stupid fool". Theidiom refers to a stupid woman who, as the common people say, has "a head full of sawdust".
- "The lip is not stupid." Here stupidity is the same as stupidity.
In general, the expression has a positive meaning and is used when it comes to a person who knows a lot about choosing something valuable or useful.
