Earlier in the Russian Empire, aristocrats were very fond of using foreign words in speech. Therefore, it is not surprising that some of them have survived to this day, and we continue to use them without thinking about their origin. There are even cases when people, not knowing the meaning of a word, freely use it in speech, assigning it the wrong meaning. One of those words is voila. What this word means and where it came from is read below.
Origin
What does voila mean in its original meaning? This word is borrowed from the French language ("voilà") and translates as "here, here so." Its similar form is “voici”, but this word did not take root in Russia, since it has almost the same translation. “Voila” is an interjection, it is used so that the listener or viewer draw attention to an interesting turn in speech.
This word was very popular in certain circles before the 1917 revolution. However, with the Communists coming to power, the use of foreign words in Russian speech was under the strictest ban.
Value
Also, “voila” means that the narrative of a story comes to an end or is used when you need to provide a result. For example, you tell a story from life: "I saw Petya yesterday, he got so fat! Voila, that's what years without a gym lead to!"
Take another example, no less urgent: the husband decided to give a present to his wife and decided to give her a car (in honor of promotion at work). He takes an unsuspecting spouse into the yard, asks her to close her eyes and, leading to the car, says: "Open your eyes, voila!"
Circus and only
What does “voila” mean in “circus language”? Yes, the same thing! Only use it much more often. In addition to “voila” in the circus, you can hear French words such as comme il faut, entre, alle op, pa, plie, etc. The ballet also loved French words, so many movement names sound very French.
Most of all this word attracted magicians. It is very difficult to imagine an artist who does not use the words "voila" in his speech. The magician with pleasure shouted: “Voila”, taking off the veil from the hat and presenting the white rabbit to the public. Or, after ruthlessly cutting a box with an assistant inside with a saw, the artist presented with a smile a healthy and lively beauty, triumphantly shouting his crown “voila”. Of course, this had a big effect on a motley and easily impressed audience at one time.
“Voila” is far from the only French borrowing in everyday life. It is worth mentioning the presence of such words as "bad manners", "promenade", "deja vu", but that's another story.