There are single-valued words, but there are multi-valued words that have not one, but several meanings. Today we will talk about the meaning of the word "time". The hero of our article has no shortage of interpretation, because the word is used in a variety of contexts. But one thing is clear: time is something that everyone constantly lacks. And it doesn't matter how many people have lived in the world.
Meaning
The object of our research is similar to a worn coin that people use, but it is completely invisible what is written on it. Children have plenty of time, but the older a person gets, the less time he has. It's easy to explain. Nothing is required of the child. Is it possible to compare school and work or school and family? For a boy or girl, adults give freedom for the time being. However, we digress. Let's take a look at the book that we almost never part with to find out the meaning of the word "time" in the explanatory dictionary:
- This is one of the formsexistence of infinitely developing matter.
- Duration, the duration of anything. Measured in seconds, minutes, hours, centuries.
- The gap in which something happens. Sequential change of hours, days, years. For example: "He was hoping to spend some time in the south, maybe a week, maybe two."
- A certain moment when something happens. For example: "Couples were scheduled for the afternoon, so Alexander Vasilyevich suddenly had a window."
- Historical period, era. For example: "The reign of Ivan the Terrible".
- Time of day or year. For example: "Morning time".
- The right, right moment. For example: "It's time to eat."
- Period of rest, idleness. For example: "Free time from work".
- Grammatical category of a verb or noun.
The almost limitless lexical meaning of the word "time", as seen in the list above. Fortunately, a native speaker does not feel this heaviness, but for a foreigner - yes, it is difficult for him. Such is the great and mighty, what can you do.
Synonyms
“If there are so many meanings, how many synonyms? You can probably choke in them,”the reader thinks with horror. But you should not be afraid, because we are not tormentors, but humanists and do not want the reader to die from a glut of information. But the duty orders to indicate at least some words-substitutions. Here is the list:
- year;
- duration;
- leisure;
- minute;
- moment;
- period;
- it's time;
- duration;
- second;
- term;
- chronos;
- hour;
- era.
There were 13 substitutions in total. A good number, if the reader is not too superstitious. Of course, you can still come up with various synonyms that depend on the context. The main thing is that we have the initial prerequisites for creativity - the meaning of the word and its synonyms.
Images of time
I would like to talk about the visual images that a person associates with the concept of "time" in the context of the topic. Two come to mind almost automatically: on the one hand, sand, and on the other, water. The first image is associated with a huge or small hourglass, and with the second - the river Lethe in the underworld of the dead, where Hades rules. Why do these images best illustrate the definition and meaning of the word "time"? Because all three concepts (water, sand and time) are united by fluidity (in the case of sand, flowability). It always seems like there's still plenty of time. Each person has as much of it as there are grains of sand in the desert. At least, it seems so to him at first, and then time becomes catastrophically short.
You can measure time in faces, for example, historians do this when they talk about the periods of reign of different kings. Sports have their own heroes, for example, if we talk about football, now is the time for Messi and Ronaldo. And some use this very point of reference as a guide in the flow of minutes, hours, days, years.
In their personal lives, people first of all remember fundamental meetings or promotions in order to somehow determine how much time has already passed. When a man or woman has a job, the days that merge into years and then into decades lose their individuality. Much becomes indistinguishable against the general background.
The mystery of the concept
The meaning of the word "time" is mysterious indeed. A person, if he asks eternal questions about the meaning of life, for example, cannot help but think about time, about fate. Therefore, it is an extremely fertile topic for fiction books or films. The Back to the Future trilogy (1985-1990) immediately springs to mind, as well as the books Came Thunder (1952) by R. Bradbury and The Time Machine (1895) by H. G. Wells.
Probably, fans of science fiction could give lists of works that would shock us all with their size, but the task is not to impress with erudition, but to provide the word "time" with content and memorable examples. It seems that we did a good job of our duty.
