Origin of the word hedgehog. “No brainer”: the etymology of expressions known from childhood

Literally: 1) expanding (e) contracting (g).

The hedgehog is dangerous because, having contracted, it expands sharply, stabbing with needles.

2) “from minimum to maximum, from beginning to end (yo) compresses (g).”

From a little bit to the limiting state it compresses.

Both interpretations complement each other well in describing the object.

e — expansion from minimum to maximum volume. Increase. Development of volume. Height. Yo = y-o. From the beginning to the end.

and — pressed, compressed, close.

Article:

School etymological dictionary of the Russian language

HEDGEHOG. Obsesslav. The etymology is not precisely established. Some scientists explain it as related to Latvian. ezis "hedgehog", German. Igel - also, Greek. echinos - also, echis “snake”, Old Indian. áhi - also, Armenian iž "viper" and is interpreted as a taboo name for a hedgehog as a "snake eater". Others (which seems less likely, although supported by most scholars) trace this word to Indo-European. *eg’h- “to prick”; in accordance with this, a hedgehog literally means “prickly; with needles."

BVP comment. There is a synonym for the word to shrink - to shrink. It may seem that "shrink" is a metaphor - to become like a hedgehog. But man and animals shrink and shrink from the cold. They are not prickly at all. The fabric shrinks when washed, it is not scratchy at all. Here is a set of synonyms. Shrunken - shrinking, shrinking, shrinking, curling, shrinking, shriveling, shrinking, shrinking, shrinking, shrinking. Shrinking - running wild, shrinking, embarrassed, shaking, timid, embarrassed, shy, shy. (Electronic “Dictionary-reference book of synonyms of the Russian language of the ASIS system” (version 4.6, 2009) Author Trishin V.N.)

Please note that there is no hint of thorniness, needles or snake eating.

Obviously, judging by the decoding, the word “hedgehog” is primary and means “to shrink.” And from this word comes the word “hedgehog” - an animal that shrinks. Literally - from a little to the limit shrinking. The original meaning of the word “hedgehog,” as the reader may notice, does not in any way support fantastic speculation about some taboo names for the animal. And further. If hedgehog is a taboo name terrible beast, then what was his real name? There was also the real name of the monster. Lenin was actually Ulyanov, Trotsky was Bronstein, and the hedgehog?

Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron. From the article “Hedgehog, a mammal of the insectivorous order”:

The body covered with needles completely curls into a ball. This coagulation is carried out by the activity of a particularly developed circular subcutaneous muscle (m. Orbicularis panniculi), which, starting from the nasal and frontal bones, surrounds the body from the sides with a wide belt and, when bending the head and tail, plays the role of a closing muscle (sphincter), tightening the skin to the center of the abdominal surfaces; in this case, the head, legs and tail are pressed tightly against the belly and covered with stretched skin, and the needles are spread out so that there is no bare space left on the surface of the ball. E. curls up into a ball in any danger, and he sleeps in the same position.

HEDGEHOG
Origin, etymology:

genus. p. ezha, ukr. zh, zhak, Serbian-tslav. ѥжь ἐχῖνος, Bulgarian. hedgehog, serbohorv. jezh, gen. p. jezha, Slovenian. jéž, Czech, Slavic jež, Polish jeż, v.-luzh. jěž, n.-luzh. jež. Praslav. *ezio-.

Related Lit. ežỹs, ltsh. ezis "hedgehog", d.-v.-s. igil, new-century-n. Igel "hedgehog", Armenian. ozni, Greek ἐχῖνος "hedgehog", frig. ἔξις (instead of *ἔζις). This word is further connected with the Greek. ἔχις "snake", Armenian. iž “viper”, i.e. “hedgehog” = “relating to a snake”, possibly a taboo name “snake eater”; see W. Schulze in Lohmann, Gnomon 11, 407; Pedersen, Kelt. Gr. 1, 99; Specht 39; KZ 66, 57; Havers, 31; Fick, BB 29, 237; Bernecker 1, 266 et seq.; M. – E. 1, 572; Trautman, BSW 73. Other Russian. ozh "hedgehog" from *ezh under the influence of the form *ozhik (cf. blr. vozhyk "hedgehog." - T.), where o is natural (see Shakhmatov, Essay 141). Blackberries are associated with hedgehog, ozhyna – the same, ozhika “reed”; see Shakhmatov, ibid.

Meaning:

1. m.

1) A small animal of the insectivorous order, the back and sides of which are covered with sharp spines.

2) transfer

2. m.

decomposition

A person who reacts sharply to sth. unpleasant, offensive. An anti-tank or anti-personnel barrier in the form of reinforced concrete sleepers, rails, beams, and wooden stakes firmly connected to each other and intersecting. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova

Dictionary

Meaning:

Russian language

1. hedgehog

2. Hedgehog, ~a, m. A small insectivorous mammal with spines on its body.

A defensive barrier in the form of intersecting stakes, beams, and rails intertwined with barbed wire. Put ~i.

| No brainer (simple) clear and simple, understandable to everyone. adj. ~new, -th, -oe (to 1 value).

To hold someone in gloves.

(treat someone strictly, harshly; colloquial).

Meaning:

Small Academic Dictionary of the Russian Language hedgehog

hedgehog,

m. M. Prishvin, Stories of a huntsman.

About a person, sarcastic, evil

responding to words and actions that seem offensive to him.

- Wow, what a thing! Don't say a word to her! How I look at you - you and Grishka are a couple! They would beat you with batogs --- - that's what! Then both would not be such hedgehogs. M. Gorky, The Orlovs.

These expressions are familiar to us from childhood, but where did they come from?

These expressions are familiar to us from childhood, but where did they come from?

No brainer!

“It’s a no brainer” - this expression became famous thanks to Mayakovsky’s poem (“It’s even a no brainer - / This Petya was a bourgeois”). It appeared in Soviet boarding schools for gifted children. They recruited teenagers who had two years left to study (classes A, B, C, D, D) or one year (classes E, F, I). Students of the one-year stream were called “hedgehogs”. When they came to the boarding school, the two-year students were already ahead of them in the non-standard program, so at the beginning school year The expression “no brainer” was very relevant.

Rub glasses

In the 19th century, gamblers resorted to a trick: during the game, using a special adhesive composition, they applied additional points (red or black marks) from powder to the cards, and if necessary, they could erase these points. This is where the expression “to rub glasses” comes from, meaning to present something in a favorable light.

Whipping boy

Whipping boys in England and others European countries XV - XVIII centuries called boys who were brought up with princes and received corporal punishment for the prince's offenses. The effectiveness of this method was no worse than direct flogging of the culprit, since the prince did not have the opportunity to play with other children except the boy with whom he established a strong emotional connection.

Tight to tucked

Tyutelka is a diminutive of the dialect tyutya (“blow, hit”), the name for an accurate hit with an ax in the same place during carpentry work. Today, to denote high accuracy, the expression “tail to neck” is used.

Nick down

Previously, the nose was called not only a part of the face, but also a tag that was worn with oneself and on which notches were placed to record work, debts, etc. Thanks to this, the expression “hack on the nose” arose.

In another meaning, the nose was a bribe, an offering. The expression “to stay with the nose” meant to leave with an unaccepted offering without reaching an agreement.

Play on your nerves

After ancient doctors discovered nerves in the human body, they named them by their resemblance to strings musical instruments the same word - nervus. This is where the expression for annoying actions came from - “playing on your nerves.”

Not at ease

Today in French V Everyday life the word assiette means "plate". However, earlier, no later than the 14th century, it meant “the seating of guests, their position at the table, that is, near the plates.” Then, with the expansion of the circle of connections, the assiette became the “location of a military camp” and then the city. In the 17th century the word absorbed all the “specifics” of possible “positions” and began to mean any “position” in general... In the same century, assiette also acquired a figurative meaning - “state of mind.”

Russian Bare, who spoke and even thought in French, apparently did not particularly care about the accuracy of the Russian language even in the 18th century. they “translated” the French phrase in their own way: instead of “position”, “not at ease” got into the Russian phraseological unit from the original language. It was thanks to their negligence that such a beautiful figurative expression appeared in the Russian language!

Add the first number

In the old days, schoolchildren were often flogged, often without any fault of the person being punished. If the mentor showed special zeal, and the student suffered especially hard, he could be freed from further vices in current month, until the first day of the next month.

Orphan Kazan

After the capture of Kazan, Ivan the Terrible, wanting to bind the local aristocracy to himself, rewarded high-ranking Tatars who voluntarily came to him. Many of them, in order to receive rich gifts, pretended to be severely affected by the war. This is where the expression “orphan of Kazan” came from.

Run like a red thread

By order of the English Admiralty, since 1776, when producing ropes for the navy, red thread must be woven into them so that it cannot be removed even from a small piece of rope. Apparently, this measure was intended to reduce rope theft. This is where the expression “to run like a red thread” comes from main idea the author throughout literary work, and Goethe was the first to use it in the novel “Selective Affinity”.

Give the go-ahead

In the pre-revolutionary alphabet, the letter D was called “good.” The flag corresponding to this letter in the code of signals navy means “yes, I agree, I allow.” This is what gave rise to the expression “give the go-ahead.”

Beluga roar

The silent beluga fish has nothing to do with the expression “beluga roar,” which means to scream or cry loudly and strongly. Previously, beluga was the name given not only to fish, but also to the toothed whale, which today is known to us as beluga whale and is distinguished by its loud roar.

Blue blood

Spanish The Royal Family and the nobility were proud that, unlike the common people, they traced their ancestry to the West Goths and never mixed with the Moors who entered Spain from Africa. Unlike the dark-skinned commoners, blue veins stood out on the pale skin of the upper class, and so they called themselves sangre azul, which means "blue blood." From here this expression for denoting aristocracy penetrated into many European languages, including Russian.

Reach the handle

IN Ancient Rus' The rolls were baked in the shape of a castle with a round bow. Townspeople often bought rolls and ate them right on the street, holding them by this bow or handle. For reasons of hygiene, the pen itself was not eaten, but was given to the poor or thrown to be eaten by dogs. According to one version, about those who did not disdain to eat it, they said: they got to the point. And today the expression “reach the pen” means to completely descend, to lose human appearance.

Spread your thoughts across the tree

In “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” you can find the lines: “The prophetic Boyan, if someone wanted to compose a song, his thoughts spread across the tree, gray wolf on the ground, like a gray eagle under the clouds.” Translated from Old Russian, “mouse” is a squirrel. And due to an incorrect translation, in some editions of the Lay a humorous expression appeared, “spreading thoughts over the tree,” which means going into unnecessary details, distracting from the main idea.

Skeleton in the closet

"Skeleton in the Closet" - English expression, meaning a certain hidden biographical fact (personal, family, corporate, etc.), which, if made public, can cause significant damage to one’s reputation.

The appearance of the expression is associated with medicine. Doctors in Britain were not allowed to work with dead bodies until 1832. And the only bodies available for dissection for medical purposes were those of executed criminals. Although the execution of criminals was by no means uncommon in 18th-century Britain, it was unlikely that a particular doctor would have had many corpses in his possession during his working history. For this reason, it was common practice for a doctor who had the good fortune to dissect the corpse of an executed criminal to preserve the skeleton for scientific research purposes. Public opinion at the same time, it did not allow doctors to keep the skeletons in sight, so they were forced to keep them away from prying eyes. For this reason, many suspected that doctors kept skeletons somewhere, and one of such places could be a closet. published

hedgehog, hedgehog, husband. A small animal, covered on top with prickly needles. The hedgehog curled up into a ball.

Efremova's Dictionary

1. m.
   1. A small animal of the order of insectivores, the back and sides of which are covered with sharp spines.
   2. trans. decomposition A person who reacts sharply to sth. unpleasant, offensive.
2. m. Anti-tank or anti-personnel barrier in the form of reinforced concrete sleepers, rails, beams, wooden stakes firmly connected to each other and intersecting.

Ozhegov's Dictionary

HEDGEHOG, hedgehog, hedgehog

1. hedgehog

2. Hedgehog, ~a, m. Place the hedgehogs.

A defensive barrier in the form of intersecting stakes, beams, and rails intertwined with barbed wire.(simple) clear and simple, understandable to everyone.

| adj. hedgehog, oh, oh (to 1 value). Hold the cogon with a tight grip. (treat someone strictly, sternly; colloquially).

Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language

Old Russian - hedgehog.

Common Slavic – jezъ (hedgehog).

The word refers to common Slavic. It has been known in East Slavic languages ​​since approximately the 12th century.

Etymology of this word has not yet been definitively determined by scientists. Some talk about borrowing from the Baltic languages. And as proof of this, they cite the fact that a word with the same meaning and similar sound can be found in the Lithuanian (ezys) and Latvian (ezis) languages.

Others are about borrowings from Western European languages: for example, the German lgel, as well as from Greek, where the word echinos meant “snake eaters.”

According to some researchers, the word “hedgehog” can be traced to the Indo-European root “egh”, meaning “to prick”. In this connection, “hedgehog” is literally understood as “prickly.”