In recent years, the use of dialectisms, youth slang and thieves' jargon has become familiar in literature and cinema . Writers and screenwriters turn to such vocabulary in order to reflect modernity as realistically as possible.
But the speech of criminals and prisoners, residents of the outlying regions of the Russian Federation, representatives of youth closed groups is not always clear to the ordinary reader or viewer. In order to understand the meaning of thieves, dialects, or slang words that were encountered in a movie or a novel, citizens who want to fully enjoy an artistic masterpiece sometimes need to turn to special reference books. In this article, we will examine the meaning of the word shmara.
Area of use
This word is mainly used by representatives of the criminal world. Therefore, first of all, you should find out what is the meaning of the word "shmara" in jargon.
What is criminal jargon?
Criminal, or thieves 'thieves' jargon (“Feney”) is a special social dialect (it is defined by some scholars as Argo, that is, the language of a closed social group), which has developed among marginalized, declassified representatives of society. As a rule, these include professional criminals or prisoners. The purpose of using jargon is to make it difficult for the uninitiated to understand the meaning of communication among criminals.
In thieves' jargon, as a rule, the internal hierarchy of the criminal world is reflected. Slangs envisage fixing nicknames, insulting nicknames, insulting words to those who are at the lowest levels of this hierarchy, as well as respectful words and expressions - to those who hold the greatest power and influence.
What do you mean by hair dryer - Shmara?
The meaning of the word “Shmara” is interpreted by the dictionary of thieves ’jargon as“ cohabitant ”,“ prostitute ”,“ mistress ”,“ thief’s girlfriend ”. Used as a censure or swear word. It has synonyms: "whore", "slut", etc.
Meaning of the word “shmara” in other dictionaries
A similar interpretation of this word is also given by the dictionary of youth slang, which reflects the expressed in the speech the desire of young people for independence, rebellious moods. As a bearer of negative expressive meaning in relation to a woman of a certain behavior condemned by society, the word "shmara" is also used in other explanatory dictionaries. It is interesting that in the famous dictionary by V. Dahl “shmara” is interpreted as an outdated “tina”, “duckweed”.
Currently, scientists are continuing to study the origin of the Russian language. In the 50s of the twentieth century, a Russian and German researcher Max Fasmer published a scientific work representing the etymology of many Russian words. Fasmer’s etymological dictionary explains not only the meaning of the word Shmara, but also its origin. According to Fesmer, “a hole” is a woman of easy virtue, a cohabitant, mistress, prostitute. The word carries a negative expressive load. As a version, comes from the goth. smarna (“dirt”, “manure”), smairr (“fat”), smero “fat”, “fat”.
It is known that in the Little Russian dialect, “a ball” once denoted not a girl or a woman with a bad reputation, but tar. With this substance, the peasants spread the gates to the walking woman. It was very difficult to wash off the tar that had eaten into the tree. Based on this, the deep and wise meaning of the modern use of the word “Shmara” is clear: it is very difficult, and sometimes it is impossible to restore the stained honor.