In the popular Soviet fairy tale "Barbara beauty - a long braid" an interesting word "prestidigitator" is mentioned. And although there is also an explanation "in their opinion, this is prestige, but in our opinion, dexterity of legs and hypnosis", this outdated term is far from always used correctly and for its intended purpose.
Prestidigitator - what is it?
This is an obsolete word that has been in use for quite some time, referring to a magician. Most often, this word was used in the old circus as a synonym for the word "manipulation". All magicians can be conditionally divided into two groups: illusionists, who work with the help of special devices and equipment, and manipulators or prestidigitators, who perform tricks thanks to an unusually developed manual dexterity.
Origin of the term "prestidigitator", correct pronunciation
This word came from the French "preste" - "fast", andLatin "digitus" - fingers. Although some sources indicate the origin is not from French, but from the Italian or Latin word "presto", which also translates as "quick". That is, we can say that a prestidigitator is a person who has perfect control not only with his fingers, but also with his hands.
Not everyone will be able to pronounce this word the first time, and even more so to do it accurately. In the correct pronunciation, the stress is placed on the fifth, penultimate syllable - prestigeator.
Given the complexity of the word, it is not surprising that it did not take root in Russian and quickly disappeared from colloquial speech. It is not for nothing that the hero of the fairy tale film admits that it took him two years and one month to study at an overseas school, of which he learned to pronounce the word "prestigator" for two years, and hypnosis for a month.
Who used to be called a prestigeist?
As mentioned earlier, this word was used to refer to magicians who work with their hands and achieve the effects of the appearance, movement and disappearance of objects without the use of special equipment. For such tricks, handkerchiefs, bank cards, balls, money, billiard balls and other relatively small objects are used. At the same time, the emphasis is not only on manual dexterity, but also on distracting the viewer from the object being manipulated.
In addition, the adventure novel by Vsevolod Krestovsky "Petersburg slums" describescheating speci alty based on sleight of hand. As it is written in the novel, the most skillful cheaters were called jerks and prestidigitators. There is some evidence that the term "prestidigitator" was also used to refer to dishonest card players. In addition, the phrase "sleight of hand and no fraud", which became winged after the release of the film "Start in Life", is taken from the work of the German writer G. Heine "Romantic School". It is pronounced by the magician Yantien Amsterdamsky, and in the original these words sound like "One, two, three! Quickness is not witchcraft at all," which, in A. Hornfeld's translation, was transformed into "No witchcraft, but only sleight of hand."
Where can you find the word "prestidigitator"
As mentioned above, many of us for the first, and perhaps the last time heard this term in the popular fairy tale "Barbara beauty - a long braid." In addition, the word "prestidigitator" (what it is, you already know) can be found in many literary works:
- "Petersburg slums" by V. Krestovsky;
- "Special" from the memoirs of P. A. Florensky;
- "Monday starts on Saturday", A. and B. Strugatsky;
- "Russian circus", Y. Dmitriev;
- "In gold binding", I. Ilf, E. Petrov;
- "Prestige", K. Priest.
In our time, you can periodically meetin various accusatory articles this term. The prestidigitator, which is described in such materials, as a rule, according to the author, skillfully deceives everyone around, and such manipulations, as in the circus, will not be noticed by a non-specialist.
Gardeners may mistakenly use this word, believing that a prestigitator is such a remedy for the Colorado potato beetle, wireworm and other pests. But it's not. You will not find a sprayer for potatoes "Prestigitator", the tool you need is called "Prestigitator".
