Constant replenishment of the vocabulary of the Russian language makes native speech more figurative and richer. Already known words do not lag behind the new ones - they can gradually change their meaning, giving them new shades of meanings. Our speech is a living organism that carefully cuts off dying and inactive particles from itself, growing in new, fresh and necessary words. And to understand the meaning of new words, you need an etymological dictionary. Its functions, structure and meaning are described below.
Definition
What is an etymological dictionary? First of all, the halls of ancient libraries with cobweb-covered tomes come to mind. But at present, thanks to the Internet, the etymological dictionary of the Russian language is available to the widest circles of the population. You can use it anytime.
The answer to the question of what an etymological dictionary is is contained in the definition. Such dictionaries determine the origin and history of various words. Many words are of non-Slavic origin, their original meaningsometimes it is quite far from the generally accepted. Even the word "etymology" is of foreign origin. This term is borrowed from the Greek language and consists of two parts: in translation etymos means “truth”, logos means “word”. The combination of these two concepts means "truth about words." Already one designation gives an idea of what etymology does and what an etymological dictionary is. In general, such a dictionary is a list of words of foreign or Russian origin, each of which has its own history and interpretation.
History of etymology
Attempts to explain the meaning of words appeared long before the spread of writing, fragments of the writings of Sumerian, ancient Egyptian, Akkadian sages have come down to us, in which they explained the meanings of the words of their native language. And already in those distant times there were words that were older than the most ancient civilizations, the origin of which, most likely, will remain unexplained.
Over the centuries, languages and countries have mixed, absorbed and disappeared, reviving new words. But there were always people who collected the surviving bits of speech and tried to interpret them. The first etymological dictionary included several words and set phrases. Later, the vocabulary expanded, and each separate part of speech was given its own interpretation.
Russian words
The first official etymological dictionary of the Russian language was published in 1835. But long before that, attempts had been made to explainmeaning and origin of words. So, Lev Uspensky in his wonderful book “A Word about Words” quotes Feofany Prokopovich's phrase that compiling a dictionary - "Making a lexicon" - is a difficult and painstaking task. Even just to collect all the words of the literary language, separating commonly used words from special terms, dialects, dialects is overwork. Although many enthusiasts put many years of their lives in order to collect the words of their native language into one etymological dictionary.
First dictionaries
History has preserved the names of the first enthusiasts, collectors of the Russian word. They were F. S. Shimkevich, K. F. Reiff, M. M. Izyumov, N. V. Goryaev, A. N. Chudino and others. The first etymological dictionary of the Russian language in its modern form was published at the beginning of the 20th century. Its compilers were a group of linguists led by Professor A. G. Preobrazhensky. Under the title "Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language" it was reprinted several times, with changes and additions. The last known edition dates from 1954.
The most quoted etymological dictionary was compiled by M. Vasmer. The book was first published in 1953. Despite numerous linguistic works published later by Russian linguists, the Fasmer Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language is considered the most authoritative publication of this kind.
How words are learned
The language of every people on earth is like a river - it is constantly changing andtakes on new forms. Each of us has noticed how gradually new, borrowed or modified words and whole phrases enter the spoken language. At the same time, obsolete and rarely used concepts are leaving - “washed out” of the language. The forms of composing words are also being transformed - sometimes sentences become simpler, sometimes they become heavier with additional constructions that make speech more figurative and expressive.
Interpretation of words
Explaining words is not an easy task. The study of a single word involves not only a list of its interpretations in the past and present, but also looks for the roots of words that are similar in sound or spelling, explores possible ways of transition of individual terms from one language to another. The historical and etymological dictionary will tell about the historical transformations taking place with various words of the Russian language. It focuses on how the various meanings of a given word change over time. There is also a brief etymological dictionary - it usually indicates a brief description of the word and its probable origin.
Several examples
What is an etymological dictionary, let's look at a few examples. Everyone is familiar with the word "entrant". The etymological dictionary of the Russian language explains that this linguistic unit has German roots. But in the language of the Germans the word came from Latin. In the language of the ancient Romans, it meant "leaving." Almost the same meaning was given to the word in German. But modern Russian speech gives the “entrant” a completely differentmeaning. Today, this is the name of a person who comes to a higher educational institution. The etymological dictionary also indicates derivatives of this word - entrant, entrant. Studies show that the fewer adjectives and cognate words, the later this linguistic unit entered Russian speech. The birth of the Russian "entrant" did not occur before the beginning of the 19th century.
Maybe those words that we used to consider Russian have a less interesting biography? Here, for example, is the familiar and familiar word "heel". It is not necessary to explain it, it exists in all Slavic languages, it is also found in ancient Russian texts. But scientists are still researching the history of this word, and there is still no unequivocal opinion about the origin of the "heel". Some derive it from the common Slavic root "bow", which means "bend, elbow." Other scientists insist on the Turkic version - in the languages of the Tatars and Mongols, "kaab" meant "heel". The etymological dictionary impartially gives both versions of the origin of the “heel” on its pages, leaving the choice to its readers.
Let's consider another familiar word - "sneak". So we call headphones and scammers. At present, "sneak" is a well-known curse, but once upon a time a man-sneak lived in respect and honor. It turns out that in Russia public accusers were called that - at present, such a position is occupied by prosecutors. The word has Old Norse roots. Interestingly, in other Slavic languages (except Russian and Ukrainian) it is not used.
Results
The meaning of the etymologicalvocabulary is hard to overestimate. If the interpretation of individual words is known, it is easier to understand all the nuances of its meaning. The etymological dictionary will make its reader more literate, because often the correct spelling in Russian is checked by the selection of words with the same root.
Besides, the Russian language is very sensitive to various borrowings. The words of German, English, French are found in it in a slightly modified form, the correctness of which can be checked with the same dictionary. There is no need to explain what the etymological dictionary means to students of humanitarian universities, journalists, translators, teachers of literature. To all those whose work is connected with the word. For them, an etymological dictionary is a necessary tool in their work.
