The meaning of the word "boyar" in Russia

The meaning of the word "boyar" is rooted in the distant past. It is believed that the very first of them appeared in the First Bulgarian Kingdom, which existed on the Balkan Peninsula from the end of the 7th to the beginning of the 11th century. This word called the representatives of the military elite, who belonged to noble families. They were members of the council, which was under the king, and enjoyed significant privileges. Detailed information on the lexical meaning of the word "boyar" will be presented in the article.

Dictionary Interpretation

In the explanatory dictionaries, the meaning of the word “boyar” is regarded as historical, that is, one that means a phenomenon that has disappeared from modern reality. Moreover, it has several semantic connotations. Consider them:

1. The representative of the upper feudal estate in Ancient Russia, as well as in the Moscow state, which existed before the reformation of the society by Peter I. Boyars in Russia were the largest landowners and had the most direct relation to government.
2. In the XV-XVII centuries - the name of the highest rank of service people who were members of the Duma of the Moscow state, as well as a person who had such a rank. After reading the story N.M. Karamzin's "Natalya, the boyar’s daughter", you can learn about the Moscow boyar Matvey Andreev, who was a smart, wealthy, faithful servant and a great hospice.
3. Boyar-butler - the title of the court boyar, close to the king, which existed in the XVII century in Russia.
4. Name of the master, landowner. Often it was possible to hear from the peasants to this landowner: "Our boyar, although strict, will not offend in vain."

Synonyms

For a better understanding of the meaning of the word “boyar”, we consider the synonyms that this term has. These include such as:

• Feudal lord.
• Landowner.
• Barin.
• Landowner.
• Chin.
• Master.
• Prince
• Servant.
• Nobleman.
• Pan.
• Sir.
• The nobleman.
• Aristocrat.
• Grandee.
• Patrician.
• Shlyahtich.
• Know.

Etymology

Continuing to study the meaning of the word "boyar", we turn to its etymology. There are two versions about this. One of them is Slavic, the other is Turkic.

According to the Slavic version, the word originates from the old Russian “boyar”, borrowed from the Old Slavonic - “bolarin”, which meant “boyar, nobleman”. In Old Slavonic, it came from the Danube-Bulgarian language, where it meant “battle”, that is, “warrior”, or “boli” - “large”.

Today, the Slavic version is relevant. However, a number of researchers insist that it is too early to dismiss the Turkic version. Although there is no exact correspondence in the Turkic languages, there are at least two options that deserve attention:

1. bojla plus är (noble husband);
2. baj plus är (rich husband).

In everyday Russian speech, the word "boyar" acquired the form "barin", which in the general sense began to mean the owner.

How it all began?

Consider the meaning of the word "boyar" in ancient Russia. The emergence of this category of service people is attributed by historians to the 9th-12th centuries. During this period, the issues of collecting people, bringing the collected funds to the place, managing the economy of the prince, and command of the army belonging to him were topical.

Their successful solution required the creation of a strong administrative apparatus. As he formed, his associates, the senior squad, gathered around the prince. Gradually, she became a particularly influential force, including as a component of the eternity.

The boyars that entered into it owned possession of hereditary inheritances - patrimonies where they held absolute power. After the power of the Grand Dukes strengthened, in the second half of the XIV century the estate of noblemen, serving feudal lords, also strengthened.

Princes who had little land were also called boyars. There are also worthy boyars, who occupied separate posts under the princely economy. This, for example, is a falconer, a horseman, a bed-maid, a gunsmith, a prisoner.

In the Moscow state

Concluding the study of the meaning of the word “boyar,” let us trace how the position of representatives of this social stratum changed in the future. Until the centralized state was established in the 16th century, the boyars were vassals of the prince and were to serve in his army. But at the same time they had the right to change overlord.

In the 16th century, the official title of “boyar” appeared, indicating the highest rank that service people could have. This title allowed to take part in the meetings of the Boyar Duma, which was an advisory body to the Grand Duke, and then to the Tsar.

The boyars resisted the process of centralization, and the king, in turn, fought with them. The strong blow inflicted by the boyars Ivan IV was the oprichnina. At the end of the 17th century, many of the noble noble families died out or were weakened economically.

Then nobles and untitled boyars gained great importance, so the differences between the boyars and the nobility began to blur. In particular, this concerned hereditary (patrimonial) and local land tenure, which was formally abolished in 1714. When in 1862 localism ceased to exist, the influence of the boyars was finally undermined.