What is san? Typically, this token is associated with the clergy, with their hierarchy. This view is consistent with the actual state of things. However, this is not the only area of application of this structural unit. What does the word "san" mean yet? You will find information about this in the article.
Dictionary word
What does the word "san" mean? The dictionary gives two answers to this question.
1. The first of them is a rank that is associated with a high and honorable position in society, a high rank. From him, the noun “dignitary” was formed, denoting a bearer of a high rank, a nobleman. According to the Table of Ranks, approved by Peter the Great in 1722, among the public (civilian) ranks, the highest (first three classes) were the chancellor, real first-class privy councilor, just a real privy councilor, and also privy councilor. Further examples can be given, such as:
- in the army - Field Marshal;
- in the fleet - admiral general;
- the court service particularly revered, for example, chamberlain general, chief-marshal marshal, chief-stalmeister.
2. The second refers to religious vocabulary and designates the title available to the minister of Christian worship. There are two categories - clergy and clergy. The first (in ascending order) is a deacon, priest, bishop. Second: priest, reader, subdeacon.
To understand that this is “dignity”, it will be advisable to delve into the origin of the word.
Etymology
It goes back to the old Russian "san" in the meaning of "san." The latter is found in the writings of Cyril of Turovsky, an Orthodox theologian of the 12th century, a bishop. And also in the Laurentian Chronicle, one of the oldest in Russia. The name was received by her after the name of the Russian Orthodox monk Lawrence, a Suzdal monk. The year of the creation of the annals is the 1377th.
Another word "san" is directly related to the Old Slavonic noun "san" and the adjective "sanovit" - "having high dignity." They are found in the Supral Chronicle, a collection of texts from the first half of the 16th century, originating from the Supral Monastery (the current territory of Poland). Most of her texts are extracts from the Novgorod annals, which date back to the Pskov arch of the second half of the 15th century.
Since the noun “san” is not widely spread in Slavic languages, etymologists come to the conclusion that it was borrowed from the Danube-Bulgarian language. Linguists compare it with:
- Turkish san - “title”, “title”, “honor”, “respect”;
- Chagatai and Kypchak san - “san”, “glory”, “large number”;
- North Turkic sanamak - “to appreciate”.
Other values
The word "san" also has the following interpretations:
- An alternative name for the Bushmen, common in South Africa. These are several indigenous South African peoples, hunter-gatherers numbering about 100 thousand people. According to the latest data, they are the owners of the oldest genotype.
- In Japan, "san" is one of the nominal suffixes. He is neutral-polite and is close to treatment in Russian by name and patronymic. It is widely used in all areas. For example, this is the communication of people with equal social status, younger to older. Often it is used and in contact with unfamiliar people. And also a young man can apply it in relation to his beloved.
- As part of the word or prefix "San", being formed from Italian San, Spanish Santo, means "saint". This is a person who is especially revered in various religions for righteousness, piety, the steadfast confession of faith, the intercession for people before God.
Concluding the study of the question that this is a "dignity", we consider the corresponding geographical names.
Settlements
These include:
- Located in the department of Calvados in France, the commune. The department is famous for the production of cheeses, butter, cereals, apples, calvados, cider and pommo aperitif.
- A city located in the Republic of Mali, a landlocked West African country in the province of Segu (southern Mali). The city is known as the center for the production of traditional Malian fabric - bogolanfini.
Rivers
The river flowing in Ukraine and Poland, which is a tributary of the Vistula, is about 500 kilometers long. On it are cities such as Sanok, Yaroslav, Przemysl. According to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, along with the Vistula and Narew, the border along the San River marked the interests of the Soviet Union and Germany in Poland. And since 1939, the river has been borderline between Germany and the USSR.
The river, which is the left tributary of the Mekong, flowing through the territory of Cambodia and Vietnam. The area of its basin is 17 thousand square meters. km For more than 20 km forms the state border between Cambodia and Vietnam.