Suppose someone says the phrase: "I will make a promenade." What is this person really going to do? Somehow the word "promenade" does not sound in Russian at all, do not you think? If it seems, then you are absolutely right, because it came to us from the French language. Now we will talk about this expression in detail.
The origin of the word "promenade"
What was hidden behind the fashion of the XIX century. speak French in Russian high society? Noble offspring of cheating were taught this wisdom. At home, chattering in his native dialect was by no means forbidden, but in high society it was an absolute bad manners (mauvais ton - fr. bad taste). Perhaps in this way the nobles tried to emphasize their chosenness. Indeed, any footman could speak Russian. Apparently, it was then that in our native language many foreign words were forever entrenched.
The French word promenade (leisurely walk around the city) is one of them. Promenade - what is it on the lips of 19th century nobles? And this is when some noble lady wanted to go for a walk, for example, along Nevsky Prospekt, she deigned to make a promenade. People of lower classes could pronounce this expression in a distorted form. They often said "promazhenie", which is what they betrayed their lack of education. Remember, in the film “Balsaminov’s Marriage”, the main character’s maman teaches him different French words, among which is “promenade”. This fragment always causes laughter from the audience.
Today's promenade
Promenade - what is the word today? We are not living in the 19th century or even in the 20th century, so few now in everyday communication, in all seriousness, instead of saying, “I'll go for a walk,” it is important to say: “I'll go make a promenade” . In our time, this expression is used more likely in an ironic version, as a joke, to amuse the interlocutors. True, today you can often find this word as the name of a travel agency, hotel or even a cafe. Why this happens, you will now understand.
What is a boardwalk in tourism?
When a person goes to rest, especially abroad, he finds himself in a special world, far from everyday life. Therefore, many words that do not cause anything at home, except a smile, on vacation are perceived quite differently. Here, for example, you come to a seaside resort and find out there that your hotel is not on the first coastline, but on the second. Perhaps, from your point of view, this is not very good news. But the hotel brochure informs with pride that a pleasant daily promenade awaits their guests. "What?" - you ask. And this is nothing but a walk from the hotel to the beach and back.
The word "promenade" refers to the number of generally accepted tourist terms, and it would never occur to anyone to pronounce it with irony. By the way, do you know what name the most important French promenade has, which is, of course, in Nice? Promenade des Angles! Something familiar, right?
Other meanings of the word "promenade"
Do you think that's all? And here you are mistaken! This word also has other meanings. For example, it is directly related to dancing. Promenade - what is it in dance? And this is a figure in the good old quadrille, who no one is dancing now. And once ladies and gentlemen loved to dance this fun dance, consisting of several figures, one of which was called "promenade". By the way, the quadrille came to high society from folk rural dances.
And at the end of the 19th century, the expression "promenade" began to be used as the name of a light dinner in a restaurant or cafe. So do not be surprised if you see somewhere a restaurant with a similar name. Now you know that it was by no means chosen by chance.
Well, now you know a lot about this word. Just never say "promenade" - it's like saying "butter oil."