The meaning of the word "dude" seems clear and understandable to some, but confuses the other. It is used today regularly, both by young people and representatives of that generation whose youth fell on the 70s of the last century. Let's look at it in more detail.
What does it mean?
The meaning of the word "dude" is comparable to more literate ones: "man", "guy", "man". That is, they call a male person, mostly unfamiliar to you. Although a lot depends on the context here, for example, in the phrase “Come on, dude, don’t be upset!” this word is interpreted as "friend" or "brother". That is, like most slang expressions, it has several meanings. Among the vocabulary of today's students and other young people, especially in large cities, it has lost its popularity and is used quite rarely. When did this expression appear in our language, where did it come from, and has the meaning of the word "dude" always been the same as it is now?
Stylish
According to one version, the word "dude" came to us from dudes - representatives of a fashionable and at the same time condemned and punished informal youth movement in the USSR. Its representatives tried to imitate people livingin America, duplicating their manner of dressing and combing their hair, listening to foreign music, etc. It all looks especially wonderful, provided that during the time of the Land of the Soviets such a way of life was condemned in every possible way, and America itself and even more or less reliable information about the life of its citizens for anyone who was not "exit" or close to him (that is, for 95% of the population), was a secret under a bunch of castles. From the phrase "A person who respects American Culture" an abbreviation was formed, which became popular even outside a narrow circle. At this time, the meaning of the word "dude" could correspond to both "guy", "coward", "dandy", and be a synonym for his man - the one who will not surrender the dude. In the female version, it sounds like "dude" or "chuva".
By hair dryer
But the peoples of Asia call a young castrated ram or goat that way. In the slang version, it is precisely this word-formation variant that is repelled, since it has historically developed that the vast majority of the vocabulary of thieves and villains have a bright sexual coloration or stem from words involved in intimacy. Perhaps it has something to do with the years spent behind bars in the absence of women? Dude they call a young man with certain problems in the field of sexual relations.
What the experts say
If we turn to serious books compiled by masters of speaking and writing, and want to find out, for example, the meaning of the word "dude" according to Dahl, then we simply will not find it in the dictionary. In slang -there is, in slang - there is, but Vladimir Ivanovich's - no. You can’t find it in the “Modern Explanatory Dictionary” of 2003 either. From which we can conclude that the word "dude" has not entered the ranks of a full-fledged, literary language, remaining in certain circles, and is losing its popularity every year. It already indicates belonging to the past century, and more modern slang words have appeared to replace it.
