The word "fist" is well known to the Russian-speaking population. It seems that everything is very clear with him. But it turns out that there is a similar word in other languages, not at all Slavic. So, a resident of Turkey, having heard it from a foreigner, will nod as a sign that he understands what is at stake. But for some reason it touches the ear. But even a few decades ago, this term would have evoked ambivalent feelings among the Slavs. Apparently, not everything is so simple here.
This article examines the evolution of the meanings of the word "fist" and traces its lineage.
What is a fist
A fist is a bent pastern. With this meaning, the word is mentioned in a written monument of the XIII century (Patriarchal or Nikon Chronicle). The word "pasto" in those days was used to refer to the hand. In addition to this interpretation, "fist" can also mean the following concepts:
- Concentrated troops for a decisive strike.
- A part of a machine, thanks to which a certain mechanism is set in motion. So, the steering knuckle of a car is an obligatory part of the vehicle, thanks to which the wheels can turn, changing the trajectory of movement.
- Peasant-an owner who has acquired property dishonestly.
- A man distinguished by stinginess and greed.
And now about everything in order.
Where did the word come from
There are people (they are called etymologists) who devote their time to finding the origins from which different words come. Like experienced detectives, they cling to the slightest evidence: they find matches in morphemes in different languages, look at the sound composition of a word. Thanks to their work, you can find out the genealogy of many Russian terms.
However, different etymologists do not always agree on the origin of the same word. They can argue among themselves for a long time, but this only helps to get even closer to the truth. This happened in the case of the term considered in the article.
The history of the origin of the word "fist" is very confusing and ambiguous. This opinion is shared by many linguists, in particular Max Vasmer and Pavel Chernykh. Therefore, one can only speak about the origin of this word presumably, specifying that there are many different versions. The following article discusses some of them.
Version 1
Alexey Sobolevsky, the author of numerous works on linguistics, considers the word "fist" to be ancient Russianism. He notices that in the Old Russian language there was no such word, but “past” was used instead. And only over time, the bent metacarpus began to be called a fist. Sobolevsky believes that it is quite possible that this word is related to the Old Russian "kul" (an old unit of measurement) - a bag (pouch). Most likely, the "fist" inthose times meant about the same as the current "bag", "wrapper". If everything is so, it is this meaning that is embedded in the modern word "kulak" in the meaning of "peasant merchant", "buyer".
Version 2
It is possible that the word "fist" came from the Turkic languages. In them kulak has the same meaning as in Russian. However, in Turkish the same word is translated as "ear". Nevertheless, many linguists adhere to this etymology.
Version 3
Pavel Chernykh considers Turkic borrowing implausible. He explains that the word "fist" is very ancient, perhaps it existed even at a time when writing was not developed. Chernykh suggests that the Old Russian "fist" could be derived from a lost even more ancient word.
Version 4
Finally, Nikolai Shansky raises a "fist" to the common Slavic kuliti ("compress into a ball"). He considers “fig” (a gesture of mockery, contempt) to be related to this word.
Is everything so simple?
Despite the fact that for many people it seems simple and unsophisticated to define the word "fist", for linguists it is a significant difficulty. Why?
A person who is not related to philology or anatomy is likely to say that the fist is a part of the body. Then it is worth clarifying that only certain parts of the body are called parts of the body: an arm, a leg, a neck … But is the heart, for example, like that? “The heart is an organ,” the physiologist will answer. Indeed, “the heart and other parts of the body” sounds strange. This isbecause the visibility parameter of the object plays an important role here. Externally invisible organs are rarely referred to as body parts.
Fist: part of the body or its shape?
It seems that now everything is clear, but linguists are still doubtful. “Parts of the body,” they say, “should not only be visible, but also preserved, regardless of the person’s posture, facial expressions, and gestures.” Well, there is logic in this. Elbow, hand and wrist are always present in a person. It does not matter whether a person rides a bicycle, sits quietly in a chair or actively gesticulates. So it's a part of the body. But one can say about a fist only if a person takes a certain pose (in the case of outstretched fingers, there is no fist).
A smile behaves in much the same way. Lips are part of the body, they are always present. But the smile comes and goes. It all depends on the position of the lips, and they can be both angrily compressed and surprisingly rounded. Similarly, a person can both clench his fist and relax his hands. We can say that the smile and fists were obtained as a result of a change in the shape of body parts: such transformations.
What the fist can do
One could stop here, but there is something else that philologists suggest paying attention to. They claim that the fist is not an ordinary transformation, although there is every reason to believe this. It's all about the functions that he assigns to himself, and they are more characteristic of body parts than their forms.
Firstly, like all transformations, a fist can express certain human emotions,thoughts, convey information to the addressee. Showing a fist is a rather expressive gesture, by which you can immediately guess the intentions of a person. But this further suggests that the fist is not part of the body. After all, it is difficult to convey emotions by showing the foot or hand to the interlocutor.
However, the second function of the fist is rarely characteristic of transforms. Usually people associate wrestling with the word "fist". This is because it has its own power function. Most often, a person clenches his fist in order to exert a physical impact on something. That is, the subject of discussion acts as a power tool that a person can use if necessary. It is worth noting that such actions are not always associated with aggressive intent. You can use your fist to knock on a door without any malicious intent, or to knead the dough for a pie.
Thus, the most accurate conclusion will be: the fist has intermediate properties between body parts and transforms.
Fist as storage
Phraseologism "take will into a fist" is associated with another function of the fist, which was not considered in the article. “This is the function of a receptacle and storage of small objects,” this is exactly what Alexander Letuchy says in his work on linguistic studies. Everything is clear here: in the fist, the child can hold the candy, hiding it from the stern look of the mother. Or, let's say a woman rides a tram to work. It is very convenient to hold coins in a fist so as not to drop them before the controller appears.
From this point of viewthe phraseological unit under consideration can be interpreted as follows: “A person collects his physical, mental and spiritual forces, placing them in a certain closed space (fist) so that they cannot escape him.”
On the other hand, the idiom "take will into a fist" is the unification of all forces into one monolithic whole, into one body, which is the fist.
Fistfight
The first mention of fisticuffs in Russia can be found in the "Tale of Bygone Years". Although the word "fist" was not used there, this article should also pay attention to this old Russian tradition.
The roots of fisticuffs go back to pre-Christian times. In this way, people entertained themselves, and also practiced the self-defense skills necessary for that era.
Men teamed up and fought wall to wall. Quite popular was the “one-on-one” wrestling, that is, “one on one”, as well as the “clutch-dump”, where everyone fought against everyone, for himself.
Kulikovo Field
It is interesting that the name of the Kulikovo field comes from the word "fist". It's easy to guess why. It was here that fisticuffs were held, controversial issues were clarified, the resolution of which seemed impossible by peaceful means. So they called this area "Kulikovo", that is, "fists".
Let's agree on terms
Physicists, biologists and other people, one way or another connected with science, before starting a dialogue about a complex phenomenon, say: "Let's agree on terms." What for? The point is that oneand the same word can have a completely different meaning. Because of this, misunderstandings occur, disputes arise. To make the conversation constructive, it is better to speak the same language, that is, to clearly understand what the terms used mean.
Words are homonyms
As already mentioned, a fist is a brush with pressed fingers, a peasant merchant, and a person of unenviable qualities. Technology lovers can add their value. After all, there is also a steering knuckle that turns the wheels of the car. However, this word is not just an ambiguous term.
Sometimes different concepts are combined under the same sound and spelling, although they do not have any semantic connections. Such words are called homonyms. "Fist" in the meaning of a bent arm, and "fist" in the meaning of a merchant are also homonyms.
This is easy to check by looking at the explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. There these words go in different articles.
Fist Merchant
The very concept of "fist", when it comes to people, arose even before the reform. Fists were then called merchants who resorted to all sorts of tricks to increase their profits. In addition, the kulaks were often involved in mediation between production and sales: buying at a low price, they sold at exorbitant prices. It happened that the kulak played the role of a modern lender, lending a piece of land, grain for sowing, animals for work in the field. After that, the peasant, who decided to use the services of such a person, was obliged to return everything with large percentages, orwork off.
This practice, on the one hand, helped the poor peasants to survive, gave them a chance to develop their economy. On the other hand, the harsh terms of the "deals" did not allow the villagers to get on their feet, and further ruined the poor.
Calling a person a "fist", the peasant, first of all, had in mind his moral content. This nickname arose from the fact that such entrepreneurs influenced people, causing the villagers to become addicted, thereby “holding them in their fists.”
It should be noted that prosperous peasants are not always kulaks. In the minds of contemporaries of that time, there was a clear division between honest earnings, which was considered any physical work that was beneficial to themselves and society, and deceit, which some residents resorted to, exploiting the labor of their fellow villagers.
Fists as one of the classes of society
The interpretation of the word "fist" in the meaning of the moral character of a person persisted until the 1920s of the XX century. After that, the attitude towards the word changed. If earlier this term had a figurative meaning and indicated the moral qualities of a person or his fraudulent methods, now the specific meaning of one of the classes of society has been assigned to the word "fist".
Prosperous peasants are a threat to the entire society. This opinion was widespread among people who fought against the kulaks.
Examples of usage
For a better understanding, the article contains sentences with the word "fist" in differentvalues.
- The boy resolutely clenched his fists and rushed into battle: the bully offended the girl he knew.
- The fist of this guy was heavy - with such a person you had to either be friends or bypass.
- Vasily was called a fist in the village, because he liked to fraudulently appropriate other people's funds.
- Fists were treated harshly as a threat to the world.
- Father thought the fist was a great parenting method, but he never used it.
- Gathering his will into a fist, the tired tourist got up and followed the departing group.
Even in the most ordinary conversation, you need to be careful about ambiguous words. Using any concept, one should, if necessary, specify what meaning is embedded in it.
Having considered the word "fist" in the meanings inherent in the modern language and culture of past centuries, we can safely use it in a variety of contexts. This will give not only expressiveness of speech, but also provide an opportunity for a better understanding of the interlocutor during the dialogue.
