Their names often appear in various periodicals. Scandals, revelations, naughty details, rumors and news - all this surrounds the life of celebrities. They are also called "celebrities." Who are they? We will understand today.
English "source"
It is not often that we have to discover English-Russian along with an explanatory dictionary, but sometimes such a need arises. If you look at the latter, he will kindly reveal to us the secret of the origin of the word so popular now celebrity. With the naked eye it can be seen that this is an ordinary tracing-paper from the English language. And if so, it would be nice to know how the definition is translated. The meaning of the word celebrity has two interpretations:
- Fame, fame, popularity.
- Celebrity, star of cinema, television, theater.
It is easy to see that English does not distinguish between the phenomenon itself and that martyr who exists under the yoke of this phenomenon. In other words, popularity and its medium is one word in English.
And in this place you will have to interrupt the usual narrative and immediately proceed to the peculiarities of the Russian use of the word.
Mutation of meaning in Russian
Naturally, there is no word in the classic explanatory dictionary, so I had to look for it from other sources. In the process of research, we stumbled upon an entertaining fact: celebrities are representatives of the creative intelligentsia who came to the pages of newspapers and magazines not because of their professional accomplishments, but solely because of their rich personal and public life. The latter, of course, is characterized mainly negatively. Of course, the dictionary has a more comprehensive definition, but less clear.
If examples are needed, there is no shortage of them:
- Britney Spears;
- Lindsay Lohan ;
- Ksenia Sobchak;
- Dana Borisova;
- Eugene Osin.
The last two celebrities have reappeared recently and not in the vein in which they would like. If the reader follows the development of events, then he will understand what it is about, and the rest - these facts are of little interest.
What does experience say?
He says that there is no particular difference between the words "celebrity" and "celebrity" - these are synonyms. If we analyze what they say and write, then inconsistencies will not be found between concepts in the Russian language. But there is one subtlety: if the star of television, stage or cinema incessantly provokes a scandal or his name is associated with events that are out of the ordinary, then he, of course, will be known better than someone who has long since retired.
For example, who now remembers actor Robert Lodge? But he left us only in 2015. He is known to the Russian audience for his participation in the series "Colombo" and the movie "Gladiator" in 1992. The latest film is about amateur boxing, not about the battles at the Coliseum. In it, the Lodge plays a bandit. And can this actor be called famous? Sure. But celebrity is not about him ... So it turns out, if you rely solely on the Russian dictionary, but you can argue with it. Someone may say that the fame of a famous artist is a thing of the past. This point of view also has a right to exist.
Synonyms
Finally, we want to enrich the reader with synonyms so that he does not look for replacement words and phrases that, if possible, can replace the object of study in another place. So the list:
- value;
- big name;
- star of the first magnitude;
- star;
- celebrity;
- famous public figure;
- light;
- person with a name.
I must say that under the official wording “well-known public figure” any person of a particular profession may be hiding, therefore her (wording) presence on the list is necessary.
And one more thing: if it is still not clear what “celebrity” means or the word seems ambiguous, then it is better not to use it, but to replace it with a more accurate synonymous definition. Maybe modern sources do not deceive, and the object of research is really not suitable for praise. But for someone who knows English, this word with all the desire can not be bad - it is neutral, since it means nothing indecent.