There are words used in various meanings and situations. They are called multi-valued. There are terms that extend one concept to different industries and spheres of life. Take, for example, the word stigma. This concept is found in literature, it is used in animal husbandry and jewelry. There are other areas where you can hear this word. And what is a stigma, how to interpret and understand it? Let's get it right.
Meaning of the word “brand”
Let's dig into the dictionaries. In our case, this is the simplest and most reasonable research method. It says: "The mark is a special sign on a product or pet that contains certain information." That is, we are dealing with a kind of personalization. So, on jewelry put a sign in which indicate the sample (the content of the precious metal). This is a uniform rule adopted by the expert community. That is, every jeweler, examining a product, understands what its real value is. It turns out that the stigma is a way of transmitting information between people. But that is not all. The same sign on a ring or necklace imposes a certain responsibility on the one who placed it. If a jeweler is engaged in deception, he will be revealed and “glorified” throughout the world. Such labels are invented today for many things. Each transmits to others certain, necessary and useful information about the product, in addition, it talks about the manufacturer. We came to the conclusion that the stigma is a specialized sign of multifaceted content. He tells those who can read it about his carrier and author.
Why invented the stigma
Scientists rightly believe that the essence of a fact or phenomenon can be understood more deeply if you delve into the history of its occurrence. In order to understand what a brand is, we should use this logical and clear principle. You know that the world's population is growing exponentially. This process did not begin yesterday, not even in the last century. The trend has been traced for millennia. There are more people, relationships are more complicated. A considerable part of them is occupied by property issues. At a certain stage in the development of society, the need arose to introduce a unified (that is, understandable to everyone) sign defining ownership of property. So the idea came up to stigmatize. Ancient people specifically burned the skin of pets and slaves. Today such a sign on the body of cattle is called a brand. And stigmatizing people is strictly prohibited by law in modern civilized countries.
Another meaning of the word
In order to burn with a special picture, a tool is needed. The same can be said of product seals. This tool has the same name - the stigma. It is made unique or unified. For example, it is customary to apply a test to jewelry. Its meaning is unified so that everyone understands. But, besides this, the mark of the manufacturer may be present on the mark. He is unique. Each jeweler has his own symbol. In the past, each owner had his own mark, so that it was possible to distinguish property from similar, but belonging to other owners. It was a kind of jurisprudence in its infancy.
The second semantic row
While analyzing what the brand means, it is impossible not to recall the famous novel “Three Musketeers”. There is a scene revealing the essence of the studied concept. On the shoulder of the beauty, the count discovered the stigma of the city of Lille. Such printing has a different meaning. It used to be used as punishment. The stigma was placed on the criminal so that anyone could understand the essence of this unscrupulous person. Being caught in a crime scene was considered a great shame. Those who violated the law were punished. But unlike the current generally accepted rules, they did not forgive. A man had to pay for his deed until the end of his days. This is where the phrase “shame” came from. It means moral responsibility for a mistake that cannot be removed either by good deeds or by time.
Conclusion
You and I tried to figure out what the word “brand” means. Most often we encounter him when they talk about the notoriety earned by a certain person by unseemly deeds. That is, the concept has a negative meaning. But in fact, the stigma initially means a regular, not a shameful sign that contains the information necessary for others. And the word acquired a bad color only because of the ease of application. Previously, there was no skin transplant; it seemed impossible to get rid of burn marks. Therefore, the executioners considered that putting a stigma on the body of the criminal was a good decision so that he could not get rid of this revealing sign. Such a “joke of history” occurred with the usual, very ordinary symbol of ownership of property to the owner. Meanwhile, the masters found this idea quite useful for themselves. The stigma, as an advertising tool, has gained popularity, which is still not lost.