Sometimes the variety of terms and synonyms makes a contemporary fall into a stupor, get lost in many meanings. Why are some rooms called bedrooms, others are called barracks, and still others are dormitories and nothing else? What is their fundamental difference, in which situations is it appropriate to use a colorful definition? To understand the problem, you need to look into the history of a sounding word!
How did the bedchamber evolve?
As a primary source, philologists call the common Indo-European root with the meaning "sleep", from which the Latin domire was formed . Subsequently, the verb turned into a noun dormitorium, which was decomposed into interpretations:
However, the final “dormitory” is a derivative of the French form of dortoir, a direct transcription of transcription. In translation:
Borrowing occurred when fashion trends and some elements of culture penetrated the homes of aristocrats along with the original names. The concept was fixed during the heyday of closed educational institutions, where students remained for a semester, or even several years.
How is the term deciphered today?
It is not surprising that in the heyday of individualism, the meaning of the word “dormitories” gradually recedes into the past. Now the emphasis is on the format of the hostel, where two to four people can live in a room. There, the living space is delimited as much as possible. While the studied definition resembles, rather, a regime object:
- dormitory, where students of the educational institution have a rest;
- sleeping room in a military hospital at the Red Cross.
What is the difference from a traditional university dorm? Rooms with endless rows of beds and low nightstands, which can accommodate dozens of students, are classic dormitories. In them it is impossible to remain alone with oneself or to shield oneself from the close attention of the comrades. All the same barracks, although with the help of the name they try to separate military and civilian housing.
When is it appropriate to use?
The word is historical, so hearing it in everyday conversation is quite difficult. You can meet such premises in monasteries, at seminaries, as well as in ancient closed schools. Today, dormitories are a greeting from textbooks and fiction. The concept with which the reader better feels the spirit of a bygone era will be able to understand the life of their ancestors through the everyday conditions of joint farming, eating and sleeping.
Occasionally, the term is used in an ironic manner, which allows you to show off erudition. The contrast between the elegant French definition and the plain public berth looks quite ironic. Although not everyone will understand the joke. But replenishing the vocabulary is never superfluous!