For almost the entire history, the ultimate dream of most people was the desire to live in luxury. What does this longed-for concept mean, where did it come from in the Russian language and how is it translated into others? Let's find out about it.
The meaning of the word "luxury" in the explanatory dictionary
In almost all Russian dictionaries, the noun in question is used to denote life in we alth. Moreover, this is not just we alth, but the presence of all benefits beyond measure, even for the most demanding or sophisticated requests.
It is interesting that in Ozhegov's monumental work, the lexical meaning of luxury is interpreted more negatively than in Efremova and Dahl. So, Sergey Ivanovich explains this noun as an excess in material goods, as well as pleasures.
Dmitry Nikolayevich Ushakov in his dictionary, in addition to all the above meanings, is the first and only one who advises also to use the term "luxury" as a predicate (despite the fact that it is a noun). It is quite possible that humorous writers Ilf and Petrov founded such a tradition. So in their second novel about the adventures of the charming and resourceful swindler Ostap Bender ("Goldencalf"), there is the phrase "A car is not a luxury, but a means of transportation", which today has long become winged. Given that the novel was published in 1931, and four volumes of Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language were published during 1935-1940. - it turns out that the great linguist simply fixed the newfangled trend of using the noun "luxury" as a predicate, which became popular after the publication of the novel.
An interesting fact: in the English language in the old days, the word "luxury" (luxury) was also used to refer to such concepts as "debauchery" and "lechery". And although Russian dictionaries do not fix such an interpretation, a similar attitude to the term in question can be found in many Russian classics.
The etymology of the term, as well as its analogues in other Slavic languages
Having considered the meaning of the word "luxury", it is worth paying attention to its origin. From which term this noun was formed, linguists do not know. At the same time, they are absolutely sure that this concept came from the Proto-Slavic language.
This is evidenced by the fact that in most other Slavic languages there are almost identical names. However, not all of them have similar meanings.
So in Ukrainian (“rozkish”) and Belarusian (“luxury”) these are similar words that mean the same thing as in Russian. But in others - not always. For example, the Polish noun roskosz is translated as "pleasure", and the meaning of "luxury" of the wordhas the term luksusowy. From Slovak and Czech rozkoš is translated as "pleasure". In Bulgarian, the term "razkosh" is sometimes used in its original meaning, but more often the word "lux" is used instead.
How the concept in question is translated into English, Spanish, Italian, German and French
Having learned what luxury is not only in Russian, but also in other Slavic languages, it is worth finding out what term other nations use for this concept.
So in the "progenitor" of most modern languages (Latin) in ancient times, the noun luxuria appeared. It was used to denote the concepts of "abundance" and "splendor". In later times, luxus arose from this word, which was used when they wanted to explain what luxury is.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, most European languages "borrowed" the Latin name. Thus, the words luxury and luxe appeared in English, le luxe in French, luxus in German, lusso in Italian, and lujo in Spanish.
It is worth noting that many Slavic languages also use the Latin term, which began to exist in them in parallel with variations of the word "luxury".
Synonyms
Having found the answer to the question: “What is luxury?”, It is worth knowing what synonyms can be found for the noun in question.
The most famous analogue words are “chic”, “splendor” and “splendor”. In a certaincontext, the terms are also used: "abundance", "we alth", "excess", less often "waste".
Antonyms
Unlike synonyms, there are much fewer antonyms for the noun under consideration. As a rule, they are associated with poverty and deprivation.
In this capacity, you can use the words "poverty", "squalor", "poverty" and of course "poverty". Sometimes the use of the term "asceticism" is acceptable.
How luxury was treated in different periods of history
Having learned what luxury is, it will be interesting to study: how society treated this phenomenon in different centuries of our era.
Most philosophers and sociologists perceived this concept as harmful to the individual. They believed that when a person gets the opportunity to satisfy absolutely all his whims, he loses the incentive to develop. From here begins moral, and then physical degradation.
In this regard, in different periods of history, the attitude towards luxury has constantly changed. He can be compared to an unintelligent woman on a diet. She limits herself in everything, refuses not only harmful, but also he althy food in order to lose weight. But from time to time she breaks down and eats everything without measure, harming not only her figure, but also her he alth.
In the era of the absolute dominance of Christianity in Europe, humanity was called to take care of the spiritual, ignoring bodily needs. In this regard, luxury was considered almost the cause of the worst sins (hence the outdated English meaning "lewdness").
For example, fighting excesses in Florence, the famous religious reformer Girolamo Savonarola burned all objects that he associated with we alth. His excessive zeal and completely unbiblical fanaticism led to the destruction of not only many interesting books and musical instruments, but also hygiene items.
In other eras, luxury was perceived as a boon to society. Thus, it was believed that it allows the elite to enjoy life to the fullest, while contributing to the creation of new jobs for the poor.
In the modern world, the desire for luxury is no longer as strong as it was in the past. Instead, the new "idol" is success. In other words, in order to belong to the elite, today it is not enough to be fabulously rich, you also need to succeed in some field. It is worth noting that such a position encourages we althy people to develop and do something, and not wallow in idle luxury, as was customary in past centuries.
