"From time immemorial" is an expression that is often used in everyday speech. And the meaning of it for the most part is clear. But as for its origin and spelling, they often cause difficulty.
Meaning
"From time immemorial" - the use of this phrase implies that we are talking about events that took place in very distant times, such that it is difficult to remember.
As a rule, this well-established expression can be found in fiction, fairy tales, epics, historical chronicles. In everyday speech, it is most often used in a playfully ironic sense or has a pronounced emotional coloring.
To better understand the interpretation of the phraseologism "from time immemorial", you should familiarize yourself with examples of its use.
Examples
The following can be cited as such:
- The ruins of the ancient city have been used by locals as quarries for centuries. They threw marble and the remains of stones into the kiln and got lime.
- From time immemorial, people have composed prayers and all sorts of conspiracies designed for a successful hunt. In addition, they tried to protect themselves from possible trouble.
- From time immemorial, the rite was performed in accordance with pagan custom. After all, there could not have been anything else in this northern wilderness, there was always worship of pagan gods.
- It is no coincidence that people from time immemorial have not thoughtlessly eaten eggs. The egg has always been considered a life-giving symbol.
- Crispy cucumbers pickled in a tub have been a welcome treat for centuries. They were on the tables in the homes of noble people, and in the poor shack.
Synonyms
These are distinguished:
- for a long time;
- always;
- originally;
- as the light stands;
- from time immemorial;
- from the century;
- from the age of ages;
- forever;
- since the age;
- forever;
- forever;
- originally;
- isconibe;
- from time immemorial;
- old;
- from time immemorial;
- first;
- originally;
- invariably;
- now and forever;
- from long ago;
- from ancient times;
- from the beginning;
- from time immemorial;
- long ago;
- long ago;
- for a long time;
- from ancient times;
- a long time ago;
- a long time ago;
- from time immemorial.
Next, the question of how to spell "from time immemorial" and what is the origin of the first of the words included in it will be considered.
Spelling
The question of how to write correctly - "from time immemorial" or "from time immemorial" does not arise by chance. It has to do with the origin of the word. It was formed by combining the preposition "of" and the noun "pocon" in the genitive case.
The word "pocon" used to mean "custom". Today it is preserved in some dialects. Initially, it looked like "from a pokone." Subsequently, the ending "a" as a result of reduction (abbreviation) was lost. And it turned out such a lexical unit as "from time immemorial", which is the correct spelling today.
Both the end and the beginning
Thus, the original meaning of “from time immemorial” is “according to custom”. As for the etymology of the noun "pokon", it is formed from the verb "pokonat", meaning "to finish".
These words have the same root as the word "end", this is the Proto-Slavic root "kon". An interesting fact is that it combines several meanings at once, two of which are directly opposite - these are “end” and “beginning”.
According to the researchers, this is due to the fact that both of them are associated with such concepts as "frontier", "limit", "border". And also with the fact that the end of something is, as a rule, the beginning of something else and vice versa.
Other values
At the root "kon" it is also a "row", "order". From him, among other things, came:
- Old Russian "kon" - "limit";
- Russian "kon" - "line", "party" (in games);
- Ukrainian "kin" - "corner";
- Czech kon - "end", dokona– “completely”, “until the end”.
The root "kon" is probably of Indo-European origin. It is associated with the ancient Indian adjective kaninas, meaning "young," and the Greek kainos, meaning "new."
Communication with the "law"
There is another version of the origin of the phrase "from time immemorial", linking it with the "law". This noun is a common Slavic word and comes from the Proto-Slavic zakon. It is formed using the prefix za and the root kon, denoting the end, beginning, border, limit. This was mentioned above.
But linguists lead its origin from the Proto-Slavic verb kenti, which means “to advance”, “to appear”. It is assumed that the noun “law” was originally interpreted as “that from which everything originates, on which everything is based.”
Although the two considered versions do not contradict each other, the following nuance arises. If you follow the second version, then the expression "from time immemorial" somewhat changes its interpretation relative to the previous one. If the first option is “according to the custom of the ages”, then the second will mean “from the beginning of the ages”, which is closer to today's understanding.
From time immemorial
The expression "from the beginning of time" is close to the phrase "from time immemorial". The meaning of both phraseological units is practically the same. Their etymology is also similar. The word "originally" is Old Russian, formed from Old Slavonic. It was formed from the prefix "from" and the root "kon", bypassing the noun "pokon", which allowsto say that its origin is earlier than that of "from time immemorial".
But there is a difference. What is it? It consists in the fact that "originally" is used in the vocabulary inherent in the religious tradition. Usually it was used in relation to a deity, when they emphasized its originality. For example, in the Gospel of Matthew, God speaks of him as having created the male and female from the beginning. The Ps alter says that the throne of God is established from the beginning, God is from time immemorial.
It is possible to give examples of a more modern use of phraseological units, but also related to church topics. So, in one of the art books there are words that from time immemorial the place on the porch belonged to the poor.
