A fortel is something so unimaginable, out of the ordinary. Today we explain the origin of the concept, discuss the versions and give examples from everyday life. Naturally, its meaning, both vocabulary and everyday, will not be hidden from us. The word, I must say, is out of date, so refreshing the memory and re-incorporating it into your vocabulary will not be amiss.
Linguistic version
The official version of the origin of the word is this. It was borrowed from the Polish language somewhere in the 18th century and meant “profit” or “trick”. But over time, it has lost its original meaning. And this phenomenon began to be called any phenomenon that does not fit into the usual, socially approved framework. But there is another theory that was born out of harmony. A modern person cannot pronounce “fortel” and not think about another possible version of the origin of this word associated with a collector of outlandish events and world phenomena. About it further.
Alternative, mystical theory. Charles Fort and his books
Once upon a time there was such a wonderful person as Charles Fort (1874-1932). He was born in America, then in his youth he moved to England, where he lived most of his life. At first he was a writer and journalist, and even released several novels, then he inherited and completely surrendered to passion - collecting all the most unusual that is happening in the world. The result of such studies were 4 books. The main works of the founder of literature on “strange” phenomena have been translated into Russian:
- Charles Fort “Fragments of an interplanetary disaster. Book of the Damned. ”
- Charles Fort “Prophet from the moon, angel from Venus. New lands".
- Charles Fort "Volcanoes of Heaven."
- Charles Fort The Magic of Everyday Life. Wild talents. "
I must say that the Russian translation of books is relatively fresh, so it will be easy to find them for the curious. The first book was published 12 years ago, the second and third - 11 years ago, and the last - 10 years ago. Of course, the originals were published much earlier. The latter was released after the author's death in 1932.
The popularity of Charles Fort in the English-speaking and Russian-speaking world is high. Evidence of this interest in the work of the writer. And if we did not know the linguistic version, we would say that the noun “fortel” is precisely his gift to us. But, unfortunately, it is all the more prosaic, for Russian classics used this word long before the activities of Fort became known.
Dictionary meaning
Knowing the history, it is not difficult to establish the value of the object of study. And still use the dictionary. He indicates the following meaning: "A clever trick, an unexpected trick." It is consistent with historical significance.
The most interesting thing is another: if we imagine that the noun comes from the surname of an ardent opponent of science, which was discussed above, then everything will converge here. The only difference is that the tricks and tricks of the Fort created reality itself. The reader must have heard of rain from frogs or worms, crying icons.
By the way, the fact that the influence of the Fort does not fade and does not wane is evidenced by the film “Magnolia” (1999) by Paul Thomas Anderson, in which at the end it just rains from frogs. You can, of course, consider this as a coincidence, but it seems that the director could at least hear about such a phenomenon, and maybe even read Fort books in childhood.
Everyday meaning
But I must say that in everyday life, a fortel is not something wonderful, but a completely physical phenomenon, which, however, does not fit into the general course of life. Here are a list of similar situations:
- A quiet employee yelled at his boss and filed for resignation.
- The excellent student wrote a quiz on the “two”.
- A never-arguing husband unexpectedly threatened his wife with a proposal for divorce.
As the reader sees, a fortel is an unusual event that knocks everyday life down. Such a phenomenon is difficult to predict and impossible to expect. But such surprises have a plus: they entertain those who are not involved in a crisis situation.
We hope that the reader now understands the meaning of the word "fortel." And in order to saturate theoretical knowledge with practical material, one can read the books of Russian classics. This will be enough to never forget the meaning of the definition.