The word "boa" traditionally has two meanings. The first is a large snake from the genus of boas, which feeds on small animals, completely swallowing them. The second meaning of the word is a long furry fluffy scarf or cape for women. The latter is the most common in Russian.
Boa: noun gender and origin
This word comes from the Latin language and literally translates as a water snake. The gender of the word "boa" is masculine or neuter. Everything depends on the value. At the moment, this word is used both as a designation of an animal from the class of reptiles, and as the name of a female accessory, for example, an ostrich boa. The gender of the noun is masculine, if we are talking about the name of the boa constrictor.
If we are talking about a scarf, then there are two possible options for the word "boa". The gender of the noun in this case is neuter, but it can also be used in the masculine. This noun can be both animate and inanimate depending on the meaning. This word belongs to the zero type of declension according to typologyphilologist A. Zaliznyak. That is, it does not decline in cases, as it is borrowed from the French language, from which it got into Russian. The plural does not have the word "boa". The gender of the noun is thus fairly easy to remember.
The story of the ostrich scarf
The feather cape has been used for the first time as a complement and decoration of the image since about the beginning of the nineteenth century. Basically it was the clothes of aristocrats and the elite. The boa has been in and out of fashion for many eras. This scarf had a reputation for being elegant, but was also sometimes seen as very mannered and vulgar.
Historical eras when the feather cape was at its peak:
- End of Victorian and Edwardian era (between 1890 and 1915).
- In the 1920s.
- In the 70s, during the heyday of glam rock and disco music eras.
- In the late 1990s and early 21st century.
Who wore the boa?
Artists have long used this accessory as part of their image. Boas have been worn by the following famous personalities: dancer Isadora Duncan, singer Shirley Bassey, actors Mae West and Jesse Ventura, Hollywood superstars Billy Graham and Hulk Hogan. American singers Scott Weiland, Celia Cruz, Cher, Marc Bolan, Gerard Way, Elton John and many other artists also gave their preference to the ostrich scarf. This accessory still looks stylish today and gives its owner a special charm.
