Many words that came to us from other languages have become so firmly established in everyday life and assimilated that now only a linguist can establish their foreign origin. Such are the words "chest", "doctor", "machine" and even "abracadabra", which, as it turned out, has Greek roots. But “flash” is clearly not a native Russian word. It is too short, hissing and generally unusual. In addition, it is distinguished by ambiguity, which is typical for English words. Today we will analyze its main meanings, find out how the word "flash" is translated and what word-building potential it has.
How it all started
The energetic, impetuous sound of the English word flash fits very well with its meanings "flash, instant". Like many words in Shakespeare's language, it easily and without any changes passes into the verb "flare up, rush through." Everything that moves fast, onemovement, can characterize the word "flash". In principle, this connotation has passed into the Russian language, as we will see later.
Spelling difficulties
The wide open sound [æ] in the English word is most similar to Russian [e], slightly mixed with [a]. However, to the question “how do you spell the word “flash”?” the spelling dictionary of the Russian language answers unequivocally: with the letter "e". This option is adopted by analogy with other borrowed words like "brandy", "diet", "energy".
The use of the letter "e" in Russian does not differ in frequency and is considered rather an exception to the rule. Although when pronouncing these words aloud, it is the sound [e] that is most often heard. In the end, since our school days, we have all become accustomed to the fact that in the great and mighty, far from everything is both heard and written. The Flash is one of those cases.
High tech
Processing information is always a lightning process. Therefore, the use of the term "flash technologies" in the IT field is more than justified. Any more or less confident PC user often encounters the word "flash". The meaning of the word even here manages to split in two.
Let's focus on computer graphics Here, flash is a popular technology for creating animations for Internet sites. Beautiful blinking buttons, flying butterflies and snowflakes are all examples of Flash animation in action. The object approach allows you to significantly save time and effort when creating such pictures, because you can draw everythingseveral frames and set for them the desired trajectory of movement or the algorithm for changing one frame to another. The work will be really lightning fast. You can also add sound and videos to Flash animations. Flash technology has become a powerful, uncomplicated and therefore popular tool for creating your own videos, games and applications.
If we talk about information storage technologies, then the concept of "flash drive" applies to media with electrically reprogrammable memory. The lightning speed of information processing is worthy of applying the short and capacious word “flash” to it. Electric charge (well, why not lightning?) is constantly changing and is recorded in a special pocket of the semiconductor, located on the "flash drive".
Cards on the table
The ways of a borrowed word in a language are inscrutable. Flush, a popular term in poker, passed into Russian speech, without asking, taking the form "flush" from a close relative of flash. Strictly speaking, flush means a sudden rush of water or embarrassment, as well as abundance. In poker, this word also describes abundance in some way - five cards of the same suit, coming in any order. In terms of strength, a flush is second only to a full house and four of a kind.
An extremely pleasant variation of the flush is the straight flush, in which all cards go one after the other strictly in order of seniority, for example, seven, eight, nine, ten and jack of hearts. The lowest straight flush starts with an ace and ends with a five. And the eldest got proudthe name "royal flush" - it starts with a ten, and closes with an ace. If the player is on the way to the flush, this combination is called a “flush draw” (flush-draw).
Poker can hardly be called a lightning game, because it requires the utmost concentration and judgment. Nevertheless, the term "flush" has firmly taken root in the Russian-speaking environment of players and has become the hallmark of poker.
Jump into the past
A short "flash" is an ideal basis for word formation. By adding it to any other word, you can give it speed, brevity and momentaryness. Let's look at this using the term "flashback" as an example.
The English preposition back, denoting movement back, merging with the already well-known flash, gives an excellent capacious name for a device in art. The character of a movie, game or play in the blink of an eye is transported by thoughts into his past, where he indulges in nostalgia, tries to answer an important question, or simply says goodbye to life. Such "time travel" usually does not last long. Soon the storyline resumes and the character returns to the present. In the literature, this technique is called a retrospective and can last a long time.
There is also a reverse technique - a flash forward. As you might guess, here the viewer or player is dealing with a leap into the future. Often, a flash forward is used at the very beginning of a feature film or series to stir up intrigue and allow viewers to make their own guesses about the plot.
The right place at the right time
A huge crowd of people of different ages, occupations andappearance. They don't know each other. But nevertheless, here and now they are nearby, representing a common idea. Flash mob literally translates as "instant crowd", and this is a very accurate description of the phenomenon that is popular today.
A large group of people gather at a predetermined location to perform some action, also called a flash mob scenario. After the scenario is over, the participants disperse. As a rule, such mass actions do not last long. Participants learn about flash mobs from the media, mainly various social networks.
The theme of flash mobs can be anything: simple funny dances, performing some action (tying shoelaces, combing hair, looking into the sky). A flashmob may have a political or social connotation, it may be aimed at advertising a product or service. The variety of forms and scenarios leaves one common feature behind the flash mob - lightning speed. This is what distinguishes such actions from demonstrations and rallies.
Fast as lightning
It would be strange if such an expressive word did not seep from common nouns into proper names. Yes, not simple, but for the most superheroes. Such a character was the Flash, who appeared from the pen of artists and screenwriters of DC Comics in 1940 in the first issue of Flash Comics. Of course, the Flash's main ability is exorbitant speeds, exceeding the speed of light. The Flash's speed of reaction, his speed of thought also amaze comic book fans year after year. Later versions of the Flash can bring internalvibrations of his body to such a speed that they acquire the ability to pass through solid objects. Internal vibrations help the Flash destroy buildings and cause earthquakes with a single touch.
A hugely popular superhero, the Flash has been the main character in many films and TV shows on numerous occasions. In 2014, the television series of the same name was released, and its third season is expected to be released in October 2016.
Common features
And yet, what does the word "flash" mean? All of these meanings have one common element - a flash of lightning. Instant, bright and memorable. It is possible that in the future humanity will invent many things in the names of which this word will be appropriate.
