Thanks to the ubiquitous advertising that hit the domestic viewer in the early nineties, it became well known to everyone that comfort is of great importance for a full human life. However, what exactly does this noun mean, and is it really an essential attribute of happiness? Let's learn more about this word and its origin.
The main lexical meaning of the word "comfort"
In modern linguistics, this term is interpreted as the arrangement of human life in everyday terms. Moreover, not only living conditions can be comfortable, but also study, work, travel, as well as the use of all public benefits.
Psychological comfort
The meaning of the described word extends not only to the material spheres, but also to the spiritual state of each representative of human society.
Unlike material comfort, psychological comfort depends entirely on the individual's ability to enjoy his life. It often happens that a personthere is everything to be happy: a loving family, a well-paid interesting job, respect in society and a cozy home. However, with this abundance, he feels deeply unhappy. And his friend, living in a village without gas and running water, enjoys life and considers himself incredibly happy.
These and similar examples show that material comfort is a phenomenon that does not necessarily give immediate psychological satisfaction.
As a rule, if a person feels moral discomfort, then more integral natures are able to independently understand its causes. But others have to resort to outside help in order to find peace of mind and learn to enjoy life. Such assistants can be friends and relatives, a good psychologist, a priest or his eastern counterpart - a guru, as well as prayer and meditation.
Trying to establish spiritual comfort, you should not rush to extremes and give up all material we alth, as some Eastern practices teach. It is worth remembering that true psychological comfort is achieved through moderation and balance. After all, no matter how beautiful the summer rain is, most still prefer to watch it, sitting in a warm cozy house.
Comfort zone: good or evil?
In modern psychology, such a concept as a “comfort zone” is also common. This phrase refers to the area of \u200b\u200bthe living space of the individual, in which she feels as comfortable and calm as possible.
The state of psychological balance in the comfort zone, as a rule, is achieved through stability and confidence in one's own safety and tomorrow. Such a zone for an individual can be a well-established lifestyle, a profitable job, a huge bank account, and the like.
Although, on the one hand, staying in the comfort zone has a beneficial effect on the mental balance of the individual, helping her find peace and even sometimes happiness, but this state can be disastrous.
The fact is that, being confident in tomorrow and satisfied with today, a person relaxes and loses the incentive for further development. Why, after all, he has already achieved everything? As an employee, such an individual is already less diligent, as a spouse - less attentive, etc. It is for this reason that many psychologists believe that total comfort is a phenomenon that is detrimental to a person.
Therefore, experts advise people who are in their comfort zone to constantly expand its limits little by little. This will allow not only to gain new life experience, but also to expand your horizons and make new discoveries.
In this case, you still need to be wary of extremes and observe moderation, since overly abrupt changes in life can not always benefit her. Although there were situations when it was the exit from the comfort zone that helped a person find his calling.
The history of the appearance of this noun in Russian
Having learned what the word "comfort" means, it is worthconsider its origin. This term first appeared in Latin. It looked like this - confortare and was translated using the verb "strengthen".
After the fall of the Roman Empire, this word migrated to most European languages, where it has survived to this day. Moreover, it has undergone minimal transformation over the centuries. So, in French it began to be written confort, in German - Comfort, and in English - comfort.
In the Russian language, the appearance of the noun "comfort" is the 19th century. By the way, through the mediation of the Russian, this word also got into two other East Slavic languages: Ukrainian (comfort) and Belarusian (comfort).
From which European language this name came to Russian - linguists are still not sure exactly. There are two versions: either from English (comfort) or from German (Comfort). But definitely not from French, because in this language it is written and pronounced not through the letter "m", but through "n".
As for the spelling, "comfort" is a dictionary word, so you just need to remember it.
Morphemic parsing of this noun is very simple. The fact is that its stem and root are the same - "comfort", and the ending in the nominative and accusative cases is zero.
Synonyms
Having considered the meaning and origin of the word "comfort" and concepts close to it, it is worth finding out what analogues can be approached. The most famous and complete synonyms fornoun "comfort" - these are the words "comfort", "convenience", "livability", "lad".
In some cases, instead of this term, you can use the words: "prosperity", "prosperity", "hedonia", "contentment" or even "nirvana".
Antonyms
As for the selection of antonyms, they are much less than synonyms. So, as words with a diametrically opposite meaning, it is permissible to use the terms "discomfort" and "inconvenience".
Having considered the meaning of the word "comfort", we can come to the conclusion that this concept is quite important in a person's life and to deny its need not only psychologically, but also materially, there will be only a fool or a hypocrite. However, in striving to make your life comfortable, you should not forget that it will truly become one if it is properly prioritized.
