Many of us know that the Russian language is one of the richest lexical languages in the world. Indeed, it is in Russian that there are many words and phrases whose true meaning is difficult to explain to a foreigner. For example, an image - who or what? Who can we call that word? And are there modern analogues of this expression?
Let's try to answer this question in this article.
Linguistic analysis of the word
First of all, we offer the simplest linguistic analysis of this expression. Before us is a noun used in 1 declension. It is safe to say that the word belongs to the female gender.
The word "image" can be found on the pages of famous explanatory dictionaries. Moreover, it is available in the dictionary of S. I. Ozhegov and in the dictionary of D. N. Ushakov. But in the dictionary of V.I. Dahl is absent, which indicates its recent origin.
So, we will try to give an exact definition of the word "image."
Dictionary Interpretation
Turning to the dictionaries, we will be able to establish that the image is a dismissive colloquial expression that denotes an ugly person leading an asocial lifestyle that is in every way unpleasant for people around. It is possible that such a person is inclined to violate public order, he is rude and untied in his behavior, allows himself unworthy attacks on his comrades.
Such a definition can be found in the dictionaries of S. I. Ozhegov and D. N. Ushakov already mentioned above.
The etymological meaning of the word is not easy to determine. Apparently, it is a dismissive version of the word "image". If the image is a word with a positive lexical meaning, then the “image” conveys just the negative value. This is what they say about a person who has lost his image, has not realized in his personality that high spiritual and moral principle that was given to him from above.
Using
It should be noted that the word "image" is widely used in the popular milieu, it can be heard in the media, and it also draws attention to itself in the works of literature.
It is usually pronounced with a condemning attitude to human behavior. Note that it was with a deeply negative meaning that the word was used in Soviet propaganda against the figures of fascist Germany during the notorious events of 1941-1945.
There are examples of the use of this expression in the sense of a mask, a mask, and quite unpleasant for people around, thanks to which a person tries to hide his true face.
There are also examples from the anti-alcohol campaign in the USSR during the perestroika period, when all bitter drinkers, and especially women who are addicted to drinking, were called that expression. This emphasized their social decline.
Thus, in this article we examined what the word "image" means.