We rarely think about the meaning and origin of words. Especially if they are rarely found in everyday speech. Everyone is well aware of the playful phrase that often ends with friendly gatherings, and the guests are in no hurry to disperse. So what is a staff? What is the origin of this word? And what does the expression "on the road", which is on everyone's lips, mean?
Meaning and origin of the word
The Dictionary of the Russian Language defines "staff" as a masculine noun, inanimate, diminutive form of the word "staff". A staff is a walking stick, a cane. Linguists believe that this word is not borrowed, but purely Slavic, comes from the word "plough" (a tool for plowing). This is "sokh", "bitch" in different dialects. Indeed, the ancient plow resembles a forked bough, and the first farmers used digging sticks to loosen the earth. They are found by archaeologists during excavations of ancient settlements.
Staff properties
The staff has long been credited with magical properties. Many heroes of legends and myths, fabulouscharacters. The Greek god of healing, Asclepius, could raise people from the dead with his staff. This staff, entwined with a snake, is today a symbol of medicine.
The staff of Hermes - the caduceus - became an obligatory attribute of heralds who announced royal decrees. It was a symbol of their immunity. Caduceus served as a symbol of secret knowledge and was on the emblems of the customs and tax services. It is also present on the coats of arms of many cities (Taganrog, Yeniseisk, Kharkov, Berdichev, etc.)
The staff was also an obligatory attribute for shamans. They decorated them with carvings and ornaments, crowned the staffs with animal heads. Shamans believe that the staff helps them travel to other worlds.
In the Slavic countries, the staff drove away evil spirits, it was always taken with them by participants in carols. All Russian kids know the magic staff of Santa Claus. On all New Year's holidays, Santa Claus is always with a staff.
In Christianity, the apostolic (bishop's) staff also had a great symbolic meaning. The "Good Shepherds" must have a staff. Jesus Christ himself is often depicted with a staff.
On the road
In Russia, wanderers have always been respected, people wandering from city to city, from village to village. In ancient times, they, among other things, in the absence of communication systems, served as a kind of news service. During the journey, the news was overgrown with various rumors, the information was sometimes distorted beyond recognition. But "word of mouth" was the only informationchannel. On travels, the staff helped the wanderers, serving both as a support on a long journey, and as a means of individual protection from lovers of easy money.
Wanderers were supposed to be sheltered and fed. Before the road they were offered to drink a glass of vodka. The glass was placed on the thick edge of the staff. At the same time, they wished a good road, a happy journey and success in business. If the glass did not tip over on the staff, it was considered a good omen. Drinking a glass was not supposed to end. I should have left a little and splashed it on the road to bring good luck.
There is also a version that if the glass does not stand on the staff of the drinker, then he is not yet ready to hit the road, he still needs to rest. In this case, the staff is a kind of indicator.
There are various names for these last glasses: stirrup, saddle, leg, love, lifting. The stirrup is drunk so that the stirrup does not fail, the saddle - so as not to fall out of the saddle, the love spell is drunk at the gate, on the move of the foot - so that the road does not tire. There were many drinking customs in Russia.
At present, the staff is not only a road stick and the last glass. The word has acquired the meaning of the end of something, the completion of the case, the final point.
Songs about the staff
When seeing off guests after a feast, hosts often offer them a last drink. As a rule, this ceremony is playful and cheerful. And a lot of songs about the staff - proof of that. They are loved by many. The song "On the Road" sounds performed by various artists. Many songs, ditties - everythingthis suggests that these are exceptionally joyful, positive emotions. "Come on, my friend, on the road," Nadezhda Kadysheva sings with her Golden Ring ensemble, demonstrating what is called "Russian prowess." These songs are cheerful, drinking. Drinking a glass before leaving is a kind of cultural code "friend or foe" for people of the same circle, one social environment, one way of life.
Literary expression
In Russian literature, the expression "drink", "eat on the road" is found in the literature of Melnikov-Pechersky, Radishchev, Gogol. No wonder. The phrase was widely used and was widely heard. But even the books of foreign writers in Russian translation are published under the title "On the Road". These are the works of Ray Bradbury and Stephen King. They are originally called "One for the Road". The translators rightly considered that, given the plots of these books, the Russian idiomatic expression would be the best title for the Russian reader. The meaning of the word "staff" in this context is clear to anyone.
