That this is the west is told in geography lessons, since this concept is associated with the definition of the cardinal points of the world. However, this token includes other interpretations that are associated not only with science, but also with culture, and even with ideology. The fact that this is the West in various interpretations will be described in the article.
Dictionary Interpretation
In the dictionary, the definition of the West is as follows. This is one of the cardinal points, which is opposite to the east and corresponds to the direction of a sunny sunset. It is located on the left side of the observer, who is facing north.
Example: "A passerby explained to travelers that they first need to get to the intersection, which is no more than two hundred meters west of the traffic police post."
But there is a second interpretation, indicated in the dictionary.
Other meaning
The word "west" in the dictionary is also considered as collective, denoting the capitalist countries located to the west of the USSR, and today - from Russia. Between them and the USSR there was an economic and ideological confrontation.
Example: "In the Soviet Union, some people dreamed of moving their family to the West, since life there, in their opinion, was more stable, comfortable and predictable."
Understanding that this is the West will help acquaintance with the origin of the word.
Etymology
The studied word leads its origin from the Pre-Slavic language, from which it fell into Old Slavonic, and then into Old Russian, where it looked like "west". Originally it meant “sunset”, as they used to say, “retreat”. The latter is compared with the Latin occidēns in the same meaning. Literally, the west is the place where the sun goes down over the horizon. For the first time in Russian, it is mentioned in sources related to the 11th century.
Thus, the “west” is a noun formed from another noun - “zapadenie”, which came from the verb “zapadati”, meaning “go, roll over the horizon”. This verb, in turn, is formed from the Proto-Slavic word “fall” (fall) by adding a prefix - the prefix “for”.
From the latter are formed, for example:
- Old Slavonic - padѫ, shepherd;
- Russian - fall, padu;
- Ukrainian - graze;
- Belarusian - Pazi;
- Bulgarian - padna;
- Serbo-Croatian - pȁdnȇm, pasture;
- Slovenian - pásti, pádem;
- Ancient Bohemian - pásti, padu;
- Czech - padat
- Polish - paść;
- Upper Luga - padac;
- Lower Luzhskoye - padaś.
The word is related:
- Ancient Indian padyate - “falls, goes”;
- Avestan paiđyeiti - “coming, coming”; ava-pasti - “fall”;
- North Indo-Iranian pasta - “fallen”;
- Old High German gi-feʒʒan - “to fall”;
- Anglo-Saxon fetan - “to fall”;
- Latin pessum– “ground, prostrate”.
West as a civilization
This is a special type of culture that has historically emerged in Western Europe. In recent centuries, it has undergone a process of social modernization. Western civilization is the heiress of Greco-Roman. This is a historical fact. But it is not one of many other ancient civilizations, as it is the only one where science bloomed after a thousand-year hiatus.
The Western world includes a complex of cultural, economic and political features that unite the countries of Europe and North America and distinguish them from other states of the world. They also include Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Israel, South Africa, South Korea, Japan and others. During the Cold War with the Soviet Union, Western countries were understood as NATO countries and their allies. In politics, this term is used to this day.
The issue of Russia's affiliation with Western civilization remains debatable today. There are three opinions on this subject:
- According to the first (Westernism), Russia is a part of the West, but it is developing late.
- Supporters of the second opinion, the Slavophiles, believe that our country is the core of an independent, special civilization, which, on the one hand, is an offshoot of the western, and on the other, is not much like it.
- Still others argue that Russia stands at the crossroads of civilizations, combining their individual features, not uniting into anything coherent and consistent.