Archaisms sometimes confuse our speech, calling what is close and understandable to us by other names. Here, for example, Neutons and Plato. Is this who or what? You probably could read these words in fiction, newspaper article, news feed. In fact, they do not denote the newly discovered elements of the atom. These are not the names of new figures of science and art. And even more so not toponyms. Everything is much simpler - read on!
Origin of phrase
You probably already guessed who Nevton is if you are closely acquainted with the literary work of Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov. In particular, with "Oda on the day of the accession to the throne of Elizabeth Petrovna in 1747." These lines are:
"... maybe own Plato
And quick-witted Neutons
Russian land to give birth ... "
It follows that Nevton is an archaic Russian version of the name of the famous scientist Isaac Newton. And Plato, of course, is a famous ancient Greek philosopher in this context (Plato in another sense is a popular Russian name). That’s the whole mystery.
"Platonov and Neutons ...": meaning of words
Thus, using these words in relation to someone, we compare a person with outstanding figures of science, philosophy of past centuries. That is, allegorically extol his inquisitive mind, amazing erudition, constant craving for new knowledge. Nevton is the common name of a person who amazes us intellectually. In the same meaning can be used in relation to people associated with any area of science and other activities, the names of legendary personalities who have become famous in this area. For example: the future Mendeleev, the present Pushkin, our Geradot, etc.
Nevton is the future star of science, and a talented student, and a student who has distinguished himself in his studies. At the same time, one can trace in the word, depending on the context, subtle irony, and slight neglect, and paternal ridicule. Compare the semantic connotation of these phrases: “I consider this student to be the future Neuton”, “They will be those Neutons who will bring domestic science to a new level” and “Well, you and Nevton!”, “We don’t need such Neutons.” The word is colored differently depending on the meaning of the whole phrase.
Proper names
Platonov and Nevtonov may well be surnames. The story of this can come from seminarians. Having learned the basics of science, the young men considered their own Russian surnames not quite harmonious. Why they saw a way out was to remake them a bit in a foreign language. And someone was not at all embarrassed to take the surname of a prominent scientist.
That is why we can still meet the Platonic and Neutonic. But the matter is in resourceful seminarians who suddenly decided to name themselves in honor of Newton and Plato, saying goodbye to their real name.
Use in modern speech
We have examined the meaning of the Neutons and Platons, and now we turn to the use of these words in everyday or written speech. It should be noted that these common nouns nowadays have already passed into the category of archaisms, although the work of MV Lomonosov is still relevant. After all, not every person today will immediately understand who you meant by Nevton.
Here are examples of the use of the phrase:
- "The headmaster, among other things, said on the ruler that Petya is the future Nevton. No one understood what Vasily Andreevich wanted to say by this, but everyone unanimously slammed the round honors pupil."
- "Neutons capture new horizons." Yes, that’s exactly what I’ll call the article, "thought Alexander, planning a visit to the newly equipped scientific center."
- "Well, you and Nevton! How could you not have guessed that this task had to be solved by the example that the lecturer had been explaining to us by the teacher!"
- "Sergey Alekseevich was the unspoken Nevton of our team. No matter what tricky question he is asked, he will always find what to answer, and he will also explain it from the standpoint of science."
- "This Nevton is already fed up with everything. For days on end he’s just been clever, but where is it?”
- "Yes, you are just Neuton!" - the great-grandmother said affectionately when I showed her how to use a mobile phone.
Are the words that we make out relevant today? Yes, they can still be found in print, in the news. But in everyday speech, Nevton is already archaism. Of course, everyone is familiar with the famous ode of Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov from school, but at the same time it is difficult to catch the parallel between this work and your use of such a common noun. Maybe you should still call Newton who struck you with his mind and quick wits?