In Russian, the interpretation of a word is highly dependent on the stress or end. Because of this, foreign citizens often make mistakes in trying to establish communication. A case in point is “goats,” which can turn out to be livestock, and a characteristic for a social group, and a seat. What evolutionary path did the term take to get so many deciphers? Not all philologists will be able to answer this question.
Mysterious etymology
The studied definition is always read in the plural and, obviously, comes from the name of the ruminant, flat-breasted mammal with a bad temper. Experts suggested that, along with related concepts from the languages of Eastern Europe, “goats” are a derivative of the common Proto-Slavic root, which was used to designate the animal. And here the differences begin.
Emphasis on the second syllable
The closest for citizens is the image of a bearded cattle, prone to butting unwanted. At the same time, there are several required base values:
- domestic or wild animal;
- Sneaky man.
The first option is basic, encyclopedic. Thanks to him, a ritual scapegoat appeared in Judaism. It was transferred to him in a special rite of guilt for all the sins of the people, after which they drove him into the desert. Today, the eponymous idiom is used in relation to people who are appointed guilty of other people's mistakes.
In parallel, there is a swearing definition for prisoners working for the prison administration against cellmates, for example, through writing denunciations. Its relatively harmless option is called the synonym “red”, which indicates activists, organizers of various types of creative activity, team leaders, etc.
As part of jargon
However, the list does not end there! There are terminological and slang goats. These are very unusual things for the average person:
- in sports - a gymnastic apparatus for a jump;
- in metallurgy - pig iron adhered to the walls of the furnace;
- in aviation - aircraft jumps during landing.
In the colloquial version, there are designations for playing dominoes and for the loser of the game.
Stress on the first syllable
But everything changes if the speaker shifts the emphasis and emphasizes the vowel “o”. In this case, they mean slightly different things:
- seat for the coachman;
- flooring for high-altitude work, mounted on a rack of beams;
- stand for sawing firewood.
No matter how strange it sounds, but it’s a goat. Very ambiguous word of Russian speech.
Everyday communication
Use fearlessly, the term has no negative connotation in most situations! The only exception is an attempt to apply in relation to the interlocutor or to any group of people. The concept sounds rude in itself, like a way of dehumanization, but some of the contemporaries relate to the capacious characterization too painfully and do not hesitate to start a fight.