What is a maid? This word refers to historicisms - terms denoting phenomena that have disappeared from our lives. Therefore, its interpretation for non-specialists seems rather difficult. Today you can find out what a maid is with the help of dictionaries.
Let's look at the dictionaries
As a rule, they give two options for the meaning of the word "maid."
The first of them has two marks: “historical” and “obsolete”. That is, today such a phenomenon is completely absent. Previously, it was called a clean, unheated room, located in a peasant's hut, usually on the top floor. It was characteristic of dwellings under construction in Eastern Europe, and, most often, it was used as a front room, less often as a crate, that is, a pantry. Example:
- In the “Biblical Encyclopedia” there is a description of a vast and high chamber, which probably resembled the one where the apostle Paul delivered a farewell speech addressed to the elders of Ephesus.
Second option
It is marked “regional”, meaning that this value is typical for use only in certain areas. So in some regions they called that half of the peasant's hut, which was clean. Example:
- From the threshold in the entrance to the room, which was illuminated by a torch, a path led from a home canvas led, it was white as snow.
For a better understanding of what a maid is, it is necessary to consider the synonyms and origin of this concept.
Synonyms and etymology
Among the synonyms of the named word are such:
- vital box;
- top;
- little lamp;
- room;
- chamber;
- burner;
- light house;
- peace
- Ward.
The origin of this word is closely related to the "mountain", which comes from the Proto-Slavic gora, from which they formed:
- Old Slavonic, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian "mountain", in the meaning of "hill" or "forest";
- Slovenian, Polish, Lower Luzhsky góra;
- Upper Luga, Czech hora.
These words are related:
- Old Prussian garian - "tree";
- Lithuanian girià - “forest”;
- Old Indian giríṣ - “mountain”;
- Albanian gur– “stone”.
From the Old Slavonic noun “mountain” the Old Russian adjective “mountain” was formed, meaning “upper, mountain”, from which the “upper chamber” arose. Interestingly, the word "maid" was formed from her - a maid for the upper chambers, where the gentlemen and their guests lived.
At the end of the study of the question of what a maid is, we can consider some features of its structure.
Red windows and red corner
So, the upper room is the room that was upstairs, that is, the upper, upper. How, besides this, did it differ from other premises in the peasant dwelling? First of all, the fact that she was bright. This was achieved through the so-called red windows. They were also called mowing.
Their frames were framed by jambs. As a rule, such windows were decorated with wooden carvings, and a lot of light penetrated through them. The frames were painted red, hence the name of the windows. A fish bag or mica, a bull bubble, were pulled over the frames. Until the 18th century there were very few glass windows.
If there were several windows in the room, it was called a luminary, or a luminary, that is, the room's lightest room in the house. In it, windows were cut through in three or even four walls. In the chamber - in one or two. Often the upper rooms and lavatories were used for needlework and other works, arranging them on the female side.
There was a red corner in the room, that is, a beautiful one. It housed the deity - the image. Lamps were hung in front of the icons and decorated with embroidered towels - towels. As ethnographers suggest, the tradition of arranging a red corner dates back to pre-Christian times, when instead of icons on a shelf was an image of a brownie made of wood (chock).
Also in the upper room was a Russian stove, and a table with a tablecloth and a samovar, at which households and their guests gathered.