Yes, now we remember the meaning of the word "slave" only when we hear that a person is addicted, for example, to TV or the Internet. In other words, he cannot cope not so much with objective reality as with himself. The problem of slavery for Europe has ceased to exist, although some talk about capitalist slavery, but this is nothing more than a metaphor. Still, we have much more than the slave had in certain historical periods. Let's start with history.
How was it?
Naturally, inquisitive readers are interested in the original meaning of the word "slave". This is completely normal. We often use words, and then their meanings are erased, which, in turn, makes us turn to the origins and restore justice. Words, like people, they require careful handling. This time the etymological dictionary did not let us down and gaveenough material.
The birth of words is preceded by the need for them. There was no official slavery in Russia. But the position of the peasants before the abolition of serfdom and for a fairly long period after was no different from the position of a slave. That is why the word was born. Initially, the meaning of the word "slave" was neutral.
Rab is an old Slavic word (its feminine version is “roba” – a slave). These nouns go back, in turn, to the common Slavic "orbi". In dictionaries, unfortunately, the meaning of the word “orbi” is not specified; we cannot enlighten the reader on this issue. But there is a meaning of the Latin word orbus - "devoid of something." And in ancient Indian, the spelling is slightly different, but the meaning is “weak.”
At first, the meaning of the word “slave” was “orphan”, then under the influence of harsh reality, “orphan” turned into “slave”.
Semantic shift
The story is interesting, sad and expected. When an orphan was brought up in a strange family, the hardest work was assigned to him, because no one was reluctant to do the latter. Naturally, in those distant times, poor children had no rights, they were exploited furiously and without any conscience.
By the way, do you know why it's so important to learn a language sometimes? You understand things that are not related to linguistics, for example, that fairy tales do not deceive. Although now it seems to us that all this is just horror stories that help children build the right moral values. But the history and meaning of the word "slave" speaksus that the truth is much worse: that's how people lived.
Modern meaning
After the horror of history, it's nice to plunge into modernity. True, the latter can only reassure us by the fact that slavery is no longer a social problem. All the rest of our common human ulcers are in place, including child abuse. But let's not talk about sad things. The meanings of the word "slave" are as follows:
- In a slave-owning society: a person deprived of all rights and means of production and who is the full property of the owner.
- Dependent, oppressed person (portrait)
- A person who has completely subordinated his will and actions to something or someone (literary and figurative).
What can I say? We have already learned what the meaning of the word "slave" was, now it remains only for the reader to warn: if you find the traits of a slave in yourself, then you should tirelessly fight them.
"Work" and "slave" are the same root words, but is there any hope?
In the final, I would like to console, but there is nothing special. One etymological dictionary reports that nouns have the same root. And the only consolation is that, apparently, the work was the duty of the slaves, therefore such a connection. There was a common Slavic word orbota, then time turned it into "work".
Another etymological dictionary insists on an optimistic attitude and states that orbota is closely related to the German Arbeit. True, soon the optimism in this source also disappears somewhere, and the dictionary has to admit that the connection between "work"and "slave" exists, although not directly, but indirectly. "Slave" and "work" still preserve the historical memory of the hardships and oppressed position of those who had to work for the masters.
In defense of work, only one thing can be said: without it, our world would not exist. Everything we see around us is the result of someone's work. And everyone is important - from the janitor to the artist. After all, we not only get tired of work, it also creates us as individuals, makes us move forward, and as a result, improve ourselves and develop.
