11 words that seem primordially Russian, but are actually borrowed

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

We will tell you from which languages "sundress", "duel" and "hurray" came to us.

1. Soup

Cabbage soup and porridge are our food. Soups seem to be the most Russian food. However, the name of this dish came to us from the French language only in the 18th century. Probably, the French soupe goes back to the corresponding lexeme from the Germanic languages: compare with the Gothic supôn - "to season".

By the way, in Russia there was a homonym for this word. The kite was called soup. The one-root that has survived to this day - "frown". These words have nothing to do with the name of the dish.

2. Tea

The samovar is one of the symbols of the old Russian way of life. Our people gave rise to phraseological units and sayings about tea: “chase tea”, “tea and sugar” (outdated greeting, good wish), “call for a cup of tea”, “Where are we, fools, to drink tea!” drinks, but not like a merchant pays "," They forced our brother to drink tea without sugar "," To go for tea - there is no good "and others.

The name of this drink came to us several centuries ago from Northern China, where the corresponding plant is called the word čhā. And the South Chinese tē formed the basis for similar nouns in Western European languages, for example, English tea, French thé, Italian tè.

3. Hat

This word has lived with us for many centuries. It got into the Old Russian language from Old French, where chape goes back to the Latin cappa (a kind of headdress, translated as "hat"). Historically, the Latin capio is the same root - "to grasp". That is, the hat is what grabs the hair.

The common Slavic word "cap" has a similar initial meaning. It is formed from the same basis as the dialectal "chapat" ("grab, take") and "chapat" ("hook").

4. Sundress

A braid, a kokoshnik, a sundress - this is how we represent the ancient Russian beauties. Our ancestors borrowed the name of the national costume through the Turkic languages from Persian, where sepārā is “honorable dress”.

By the way, in Ancient Russia, sundresses were worn by men: that was the name of a long men's caftan.

5. Kaftan

Another word that breathes with the Russian spirit and which came from the Turkic languages. Turkish kaftan ("outerwear") is a borrowing from Persian, where haftan is a kind of underwear.

6. Tuzhurka

On the one hand, this word should not be here: it did not come from somewhere, but was formed in the Russian language by adding "tuzhur" and the suffix "-k-".

But on the other hand, "tujour" is a borrowed French toujours - "always, constantly." Tuzhurka literally means casual wear.

7. Barn

The name of the plain and modest buildings, which are abundant in Russian villages, goes back to the ancient Persian sarāi - "palace". The word came to us through the Turkic languages, where it had a wide range of meanings: "house", "palace", "stall", "barn". The latter has stuck with us.

The name of the Crimean city of Bakhchisarai is translated as "garden palace" ("melon" + "barn"). And "seraglio" is the same sarāi, but which came to us through the French language and retained the meaning of "palace".

8. Flaw

The word is borrowed through the Turkic languages from Persian. Ziyān - "harm".

Many people mistakenly believe that this noun is derived from "withdraw". Although this is not the case, there is a connection between the words: probably, as a result of the semantic convergence with the named verb, the “flaw” acquired the initial “and”.

9. Lime

The case when one word was borrowed twice. Even in Ancient Russia, the Greek asbestos, which translates as "inextinguishable", came orally. The initial a turned into an i. "S" became "z" because it came before a voiced consonant. The Greek "b" has passed into "in", as it was, for example, in Byzantium - "Byzantium".

Much later, through technical and scientific books, the word "asbestos" got into the Russian language. Here, although "z" is pronounced because of the same voicing, it is written "s" because the lexeme came to us in writing.

10. Duel

The word is very similar to the native Russian. Immediately, a duel between a hero and a basurman is presented. However, this noun came to us only in the 17th century from our related other Slavic language - Polish. Hence the feeling of "primordiality". Pojedynek is derived from jeden - "one". "Duel" literally means "one-on-one fight".

By the way, "hero" has nothing to do with the word "god" and this is also a borrowing. It came from the Turkic languages and means "brave", "military leader", "hero".

11. Cheers

In the 18th century, many words from German came to the Russian language. Including hurra, which goes back to the verb hurren - "to move quickly."

Perhaps, in the past, someone was outraged by the German "hurray" as much as many are now - by the English "wow."