The noun "creature", formed from the verb "create", initially had a completely harmless and even exalted meaning. Today, this meaning has been preserved only in stable speech circulation. If in the expression “God's creature” no negative is present, then the phrase “vile creature” is already expressive and is perceived as a curse. Why did this happen, and what is a creature in the modern sense?
God's Creation
In the Old Slavonic language, the word "creature" denoted any living creature, be it a person, animal or insect. This interpretation has been maintained for quite some time. Take the famous phrase from the novel Crime and Punishment: “Am I a trembling creature or do I have the right?”
Obviously, when F. M. Dostoyevsky describes Raskolnikov's throwing, he does not endow the hero with animal qualities, but only shows the lowlandness of his thoughts. What is a creature in this context? Most likely, this implies a helpless, soulless, cowardly person.
Already in the biblical parables there is a tendency to use the word "creature" mainly in relation to our younger brothers. Let us recall the legend of the global flood: God told Noah to collect “all creatures in pairs”, that is, heterosexual representatives of the terrestrial fauna in the ark built. Although even now, when one speaks about the perishability of the existence of the human race, one can hear the expression "we are all creatures of God," and there is nothing offensive in this.
Subtleties of word formation
What is a "creature" in terms of etymology? It would be more logical to assume that the derivative of the verb "create" is "creation", in the same way as in the following cases:
- to produce - a work;
- to create is creation;
- to do - an act;
- to accomplish is accomplishment.
But in Russian, nouns can be formed in various ways. If the suffix “-ni-” is used in the above examples, then words such as “ringer”, “cracker”, “goalkeeper” are formed by attaching the suffix “-ar-” to the root.
You can pick up other pairs: “burns - cinder", "heals - healer", "delivers mail - postman", etc. It turns out that the creature is something created by God. For comparison: utensils - a collection of household items, things made by man.
Veiled Curse
Gradually, the original meaning was erased, and the "creature" began to be applied only to creatures, although alive, but without a soul. In Russian, this word can be called obsolete, now no one calls animals or birds creatures, but in Ukrainian today the “animal” sounds like “creature”.
Now it is easy to guess what a creature is in a negative sense. Saying this word as a curse is like calling a person a goat, a ram, cattle, and the like with unpleasant expressions. It seems to be not swearing in its purest form, but it can easily inflict spiritual harm on the interlocutor. Therefore, it is better to refrain from such words, to be more tolerant and kinder to those around us.