Each word or expression has a story of its appearance in the language. Some of them live for centuries, others die, having existed only a few years. This is largely due to the level of development of society, culture, life of the people where the word lives. Many invisible threads connect words to each other.
What dictionaries talk about
You can get acquainted with the "biography" of the word on the pages of dictionaries. They also go there in order to reveal its lexical meaning.
For example, if one wonders what the word reverence means, one can easily notice that in the dictionaries of different authors it has, basically, a similar interpretation, although there is a difference. Analysis of the frequency of use of the word shows that it is used in 90% of cases in general vocabulary, in 10% - in the church. This can explain the fact of similarities and differences in the interpretation of the verb reverence in dictionaries.
In the dictionary of T. F. Efremova, “reverence” stands in line with the verbs to experience, to manifest. Noun reverence is also related to this series of words.
In the dictionary of S. I. Ozhegov, the phrase is used for clarification: "reverence - is to respect with reverence for something or someone." Here, the author gives a whole list of words related both among themselves and with the verb to reverence - reverence, grace, good, piety, blissful, bliss.
In the Dictionary of D. N. Ushakov, the explanation of the word is close to that presented by Ozhegov. And a number of antonyms contain words such as: despise, do not put a penny.
In the dictionary of Dyachenko, where Church Slavonic expressions are collected, a different interpretation of the verb reverence is given. The meaning of the word, according to the author, follows from a whole chain of related words:
- reverence - fear of God, deep respect;
- reverent - zealous for God, devout;
- to reverence - to give great honor to God, to be pious;
- reverence is humility and fear caused by devotion and love.
Etymology of the word
To understand what it means to be reverent, or to reveal the meaning of any other word, sometimes it’s enough to figure out where it came from and how.
Linguistic scholars believe that most of the words, like the verb reverence, appeared in the Russian language as a result of the educational activities of Cyril and Methodius. Their translation into Russian of the Holy Scriptures and other liturgical books allowed the Slavs who converted to Christianity to turn to God in their native language.
But initially, many borrowings from the ancient Greek and Hebrew languages ​​were alien to the sound of Russian speech, and the meanings are incomprehensible. With the development of the literary Slavic language, borrowed words began to be supplanted, as they were replaced by correspondences that arose in the native language. The verb reverence is one of many words that are of Church Slavonic origin.
Tracing
Not only individual words were borrowed, but also the ways of their formation. One of them is tracing. The translation of a word from a foreign language is carried out in parts, and then formed into a single whole.
This explains the large number of compound words in Russian. For example, the morpheme “blessing” is noted in different dictionaries in more than 700 language units. We can conclude that the word reverence is the result of a similar method of word formation.
Associations
In the process of searching for the meaning of a word, a person significantly expands both passive and active vocabulary. And if you use the technique of associations, then much faster you can understand the meaning of a particular word, while the replenishment of the dictionary will be guaranteed.
For example, a translation into English makes it clear that reverence means trembling, worshiping, worshiping, reading. In modern Russian, the synonyms of the infinitive are words such as doing, giving, working out, praying, worshiping, bowing, obeying. The phrases “bow your head”, “look from the bottom up”, “create an idol” supplement and expand the meaning of the word reverence.
The use of the word itself in phrases also reveals its meaning. Reverence can be respectfully, explicitly, weak-willed, stupid, naive, blind, servile. A reverent woman, man, uncle, teacher, leader, people. The list goes on and on.
The list of words indicating emerging associations associated with the verb reverence can be just as long. Each person will have their own associations, since they depend on many factors - education, social status, age, life experience, etc.
Instead of a conclusion
Interest in the language is shown not only by people who are professionally studying it, but also students, schoolchildren, as well as those who simply follow the development of the Russian language, are interested in its history.
A person's awareness of linguistics, a rich vocabulary is an indicator of his literacy level and general culture.