A very famous couple of words that sounds very often at a construction site, when loading in sea and river ports, during the operation of cranes: “vira” and lane. ” Where did they come from? How are Russian dictionaries interpreted? This will be discussed in the article.
What does “lane” and “vira” mean?
The word "lane" is usually interpreted as a crack in the ice, and "vira" is a type of monetary fine in Russia that was paid to the prince for killing a person. Then the question arises: "What does the process of lifting and lowering cargo?" The fact is that homonyms are used.
The history of the origin of words
At first glance, the story of the origin of the lane and vira seems very confusing. What do these words mean? So, “lane”, which is used in the meaning of “ice hole”, came from the Finnish word “maynas” and translates as “large wormwood”, but in the meaning “down”, it was most likely formed from the verb in Italian “am minar” ", Which translates as" lowering "and was used only in the navy to lower the flag or sails, but subsequently the expression migrated to the construction site.
The word "vira" also has an interesting origin. He is associated with the Icelandic “fan”, which translates as “man”, Lithuanian “vairas” and Indian “viras”, which also translate as “hero, man”. Moreover, the word itself in the meaning of "up" comes from the Italian "virara", which translates to "turn" and was also used in marine affairs.
What do the words "lane" and "vira" mean? Explanatory dictionaries of the Russian language
Most dictionaries define these words completely different.
In the dictionary of foreign words: “lane” means “hole”, “vira” means “man”.
In Ephraim’s dictionary “lane” is:
- a wide crack in ice, in a pond or an unfrozen place on the river;
- a bird from the starling family, which lives in Central Asia;
- a team when moving goods or other weights.
What does “lane” and “vira” mean according to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia?
Here are a few definitions:
- This is a village in Khakassia;
- This is a bird of the starling family.
The meaning of the word "lane" in the explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov:
- this is an expression that is used by builders and in the port in the meaning of "lower down", and the word "vira" - in the meaning of "lift up".
What does “lane” and “vira” mean in Ushakov’s explanatory dictionary? The first word means “ice-hole, ice hole”, the command in the meaning of “lower the sails”, respectively, the second means “man” or the command “raise the sails”.
In the Russian language dictionary edited by A. Evgenyeva the word "lane" has a lot of meanings:
- This is a didactic mark in Thai writing;
- tributary of the Barysh River;
- wide and deep crack in the ice;
- an order at a construction site, meaning "lower down";
- the area in the Peloponnese;
- a village in Khakassia;
- a village in the Ulyanovsk region;
- Canadian historical film.
So what do lane and vira mean? The words are of Italian origin, originally used in the maritime industry, then migrated to the construction industry and to work related to the loading and unloading of goods and heavy goods. “Maina” means “lower down”, “vira” - “raise up”. How these words got into the Russian language is difficult to say, most likely, this happened at a time when Italian masters were very popular in Russia, it was they who brought these expressions into Russian.