After reading the title of the article, I wanted to get acquainted with it, right? Admit what associations the word "sow" causes? Most likely, it will be a pig. Or a girl from a Russian fairy tale, remember this one, about a tiny hawrochechka? Let's find out what hides the meaning of "sow": a pig or a female name.
What does the word mean?
We are used to the fact that the word "sow" is negative, because it is called a dirty pig, who loves to tinker in the swamp. When the girl gets dirty, her mother reproachfully shakes her head, comparing the child with a sow.
In fact, sow is not a pig at all. Initially, the word hid a completely different meaning. This is an old female name, its origins lie in the Greek language.
Origin Options
There are several versions of the origin of the word "sow". As written above, it was originally used in the meaning of the female name. Later, in Soviet times, the female piglet was called so.
The first variant of origin says that we have a name formed from the ancient Greek Φεβρωνία. Doesn’t resemble anything? That was the name of the holy noble Princess of Murom.
According to the second hypothesis, in ancient Russia the name was transformed into Khovroniya. When it turned into the name of a pig, it is not known for certain. There is an opinion that the word "hawra" (skawra), translated from ancient Prussian means "pig." It is possible that evil tongues have so called a pig because of such a translation. Khavronya is a humorous name for a dirty pig used both in Russian folk tales and in classical literature. Today, it has practically disappeared from the colloquial speech of the younger generation. Among older people, the use of the word in a negative way is still found.
Conclusion
The article spoke in detail about the meaning and variants of the origin of the word "sow" - as it turned out, the name of the saint. It is very unfortunate to observe how the name of the holy princess is distorted, comparing her with a pig.