Many concepts over time change their meaning to the exact opposite. This rarely happens, but creates a surprising situation within the language in which one term covers different phenomena. For modern Russian speech, "freeloader" is something bad. A clear negative context is felt immediately. Although in the old days to get such a person into your family was not a bad thing, even profitable. What happened?
Food and lodging
The original word is "bread", derived from a consonant Proto-Slavic root. It implies a basic and accessible product that is found in different cultures with developed agriculture. The prefix "on" emphasizes the need for such food. It helps to identify the person who:
- comes to eat;
- give money for food.
Are we talking about guests or ordinary customers in the grocery store? Not at all, the concept is somewhat deeper.
Frugality and generosity
Today cafes and hostels are everywhere and onany wallet. Previously, travelers with limited funds had to look for places to relax and inexpensive food. The now obsolete meaning "freeloader" denoted such gentlemen. They allocated a certain amount to the family in order to receive for a certain period or number of times:
- good homemade food;
- a place to stay.
The second point is an option, but students, employed officers and officials in a foreign city cannot do without food. It is expensive to eat in taverns, it is shameful to burden friends, and there is not enough time of one's own. This is where the help of an experienced hostess comes in handy. All she needs is to add water to the pot and throw in a couple of extra potatoes.
But even in the old days there were individuals of dubious moral character. They could easily pay for a few meals, then beg for a loan, and subsequently disappear altogether. Thus was born the modern interpretation:
- one who lives at the expense of others;
- hooker.
The meaning is quite broad. Dear relatives who came to visit and stayed for a month fall under it. But gigolos are not deprived of attention either: they can exist on personal funds, live quite decently, but at the same time regularly beg for handouts from their passion. The remote freeloader is an achievement of the 20th century, when being under the same roof to lure other people's money is not necessary.
Theory and practice
How appropriate to put a word into the conversation? Don't forget that now it's more of an insult. Depending on thecontext: a direct reproach or a clear allusion to the parasitism of a person, her unwillingness to live independently. Another thing is that in fiction, in historical documents, outdated interpretation is periodically found, which is worth remembering in order to understand the text from the first reading!
