Despite the efforts of linguistic scientists, it is not always possible to establish the origin of a particular word in Russian. This is especially true of jargon, which came from the criminal environment. A vivid example of such a situation is the noun "boy." The meaning of this word today is known to almost everyone, but initially it had a slightly different meaning. Which one? Let's find out, and also consider the most famous theories of the origin of a given lexical unit.
The modern interpretation of the word "boy"
This noun can be heard today from almost any person, regardless of their social status and education. Moreover, the word under consideration still belongs to the category of colloquial, and its use in literary literary speech is considered a mistake.
What does it mean? The word "boy" is often called boys, as well as young people. The terms that are closest in meaning to it are the terms “guy,” “boy,” and among the vernacular, “dude.”
What does “boy” mean in the criminal world
Having familiarized yourself with the basic meaning of the word "kid", you should pay attention to how the dictionary of criminal jargons (TSUZH) interprets this token. In it, the considered noun is used in the plural - "boys" - and means ... a set of master keys, as well as playing cards.
In other dictionaries (specializing in jargon used by criminals in their speech) the meaning of the word "boy" is different - this is a young thief who works with a more experienced criminal and learns from him.
Moreover, this jargon is often used in the phrases “green boy” and “golden boy”. The first is simply called a young thief, and the second is a young criminal who has already achieved certain “successes” in his chosen field.
This noun is also used when talking about a member of a youth criminal group, which is especially respected by colleagues. Moreover, the common phrase "rotten kid" indicates that this noun does not always mean a respected criminal.
In yard jargon, this term refers to guys who, according to the company, are normal guys living according to the concepts of a yard or district.
From all the above interpretations of the meaning of the word "kid", we can conclude that there is no clear definition of this term, and in some regions and areas it is used in its own way.
When the word arose in Russian
So, today there is no unambiguous theory about how exactly the unit of speech considered by us was formed, but it is known when it appeared.
This happened at the beginning of the 20th century, most likely after the 1917 revolution. A curious fact testifies to this. Many people who want to know the etymology and meaning of a particular word turn to the fundamental works of famous, respected authors. One of these works is The Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language by V. I. Dahl. What do we find in it? What is the meaning of the word "boy" by Dahl? It turns out that there is simply no such noun or close to it. But Vladimir Ivanovich was a meticulous man and would hardly have missed this lexical unit if it had been distributed in the 19th century.
One of the first dictionaries in which the concept under consideration is recorded is the Dictionary of the thieves' jargon by A. M. Selishchev, published in 1928. After him, in 1929, the “boy” appears in the A. V. Mirtov dictionary. In it, the word appears as the name of street children and tramps in Rostov.
The great pedagogue-innovator Anton Semenovich Makarenko in his “Pedagogical Poem” periodically encounters the word “boy” in the meaning of “homeless child”. This confirms that in 20-30 years. XX century this noun was used for boys from dysfunctional families or orphans who were forced to earn a living by theft.
It is likely that when the generation of guys who were first called “boys” grew up, along with them this name automatically began to be used in the criminal environment as an appeal to older criminals.
It is worth noting that after the Great Patriotic War in the "Dictionary of the Russian Language" by S. I. Ozhegov, the noun "boy" already means just a boy or a guy. So it is interpreted today.
The meaning of the word "boy" in the Jews
Having dealt with the interpretation and history of distribution, it is worth paying attention to the most famous theories of the origin of the word “boy”.
One of the most unpleasant versions of his appearance is Jewish. According to her, “boy” was originally written as “pozan” (unstressed “o” reads as [a]) and was formed from the word “poz”. Translated from Hebrew, it means "penis", but most often it is used as a synonym for the noun "fool".
Some researchers believe that the term "boy" was formed from another Jewish abusive treatment - "price" ("underdeveloped penis").
It is known that the tradition of using the words “Pots” and “Potsen” in speech appeared in Odessa at the beginning of the 20th century. Due to the huge number of Jews in the city, their abusive expressions (by which they called petty thieves) soon spread in the criminal environment, not only in Odessa, but also far beyond its borders.
It turns out, it doesn’t matter, the word under consideration is formed from the “priest” or from the “price”, all the same the meaning of the word “boy” from Hebrew is “male reproductive organ”. Agree, this is rather unpleasant for those who like to call themselves "kid."
Ukrainian theory of origin
However, not all linguistic scholars believe that the word in question came from Hebrew. A number of linguists insist on the Ukrainian origin of the noun. So, in the “Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language” by B. Grinchenko, published in the first decade of the 20th century, there is the term “patsya” - this is a piglet or even an adult pig.
In this regard, it is believed that the word "boy" was originally called children and adolescents who grazed pigs. It should be noted that in the Dahl dictionary in the same period the word "pats" - "rat" is noted.
Polish trace in the etymology of the word "boy"
In addition to the above, there is a theory about the Polish origin of the considered noun. So, in the language of the proud gentry there is the pacan token, which translates as "fool."
Having considered all theories of the origin of the word "boy", we have to admit that they all agree that the word originally had a negative connotation and was used as a curse word. However, if linguists drew attention to it immediately, today it would be possible to more accurately establish its origin.