The bear is a character in fairy tales, legends, fables, as well as classic fiction. Preschoolers are happy to make a small discovery when they first think: this glorious character is named so because she knows (knows) where to get honey. The next step is to understand that it is not so much âawareâ as âeatingâ. And what's more, they call it in such a way as to hide the real word denoting the furry and big beast.
We can say that the bear opens the way not only to fairy tales, but also to a very interesting section of linguistics that studies the history of words. A study in the etymology of the origin of the word "bear" is a beginning for young minds to understand the basics of this science of language.
In the Dahl dictionary
Vladimir Ivanovich Dahl devoted a lot of lines in his dictionary to the bear. At the very beginning of the article, it was noted that in the south it was called the "witch." Obviously, the roots of âhoneyâ and âVedasâ simply switched places. The origin of the words âbearâ and âwitch-bearâ has common sources.
âThere are two kinds of them in Russia,â Dahl writes. In contrast to the polar bear, the brown bear is given many âswearing and honorable nicknamesâ: the dictionary contains three dozen such popular nicknames, including âforest archimandriteâ, âSmorgon studentâ, âSergat gentlemanâ, âforesterâ, âchiropractorâ . There are also quite familiar to modern hearing: Mikhailo Ivanovich Toptygin, a bear, potapych, clubfoot, and so on.
Three breeds of brown bear are described by Dahl in terms of their addictions to various foods - oats, raspberries, roots, meat. Not only the word "teddy bear" is mentioned in the article, but also a pestoon - a young bear, who is a little over a year old, a cub, still with the dipper.
The abundance of concepts related to the bear (given by Dahl) is another confirmation of the cult of the bear among the people: the names of the constellations, herbs, insects, implements of labor send us to this mighty beast.
It is worth noting that rituals, holidays, legends dedicated to the bear, existed not only among the Slavic peoples. The tribes living in Asia, Europe, America, deified him, considering not only a guardian, master, but also an ancestor.
Etymology
The origin of the word "bear" in Dahl's explanatory dictionary is related to the concept of "honey-loving". In other dictionaries, the bear is "the one who eats honey." It "eats", "eats." This can be called the second small discovery, since âknowâ and âeatâ are still different things.
The origin of the word "bear" is associated with etymological dictionaries with euphemisms (substitute words) that people used in order not to pronounce the "real name" of the forest beast. In fact, many nicknames are a continuation of the established tradition.
Some experts argue that the original word for him has not been preserved. Others are trying to construct a version of the original name of this animal that corresponds to the canons of Old Slavic dialects. Perhaps this is discovery number three.
Etymology always follows the trail: it searches for the origin of the root of the word, compares it with other languages, dialects, dialects and tries to find its previous sound.
The origin of the word "bear" in the Russian language is evaluated by this science not as borrowed from other dialects and not as inherited from the great language. This is a new word constructed by means of speech itself.
Having comprehended the origin of the word âbearâ, we stop before the riddle: what was it called before? How to find an unnamed word?
Tales of the Clubfoot
The images of fairy-tale bear characters teach children the ambiguity of life. In the characters of huge furry animals intertwined simplicity and cunning, strength and naivety, kindness and malice. It is easy to agree that the cult of the bear is also manifested in the anthropomorphic features of this character.
The origin of the word âbearâ, connected with the love of this beast for honey, created a rather attractive image that wonderfully fits into fairy tales. Although the complex, sometimes ferocious disposition of these animals is well heard.
However, he is also a rather difficult character in fairy tales. That will destroy the tower, then he will take the pies, then he wants to protect the hare, then he will chase after the girl, then he will catch the elephant. It is impossible to list all children's books, both Russian and foreign, in which the bear is the main character.
Great literature
First of all, of course, the image of a rustic âgood manâ in the fables of I. A. Krylov is remembered: âHermit and Bearâ, âDinner at the Bearâ, âHardworking Bearâ, âBear at the Beesâ. SV Mikhalkovâs - âBear vowâ, âMoshkaâ, âHare-simulatorâ. Do you remember?
Bear feeds, Bear feeds,
Cleverly I spent it!
But it doesn't bother me
Nothing at all!
âThe Bearâ by A.P. Chekhov, âThe Bearâ by E. L. Schwartz, Prosper Merimee's novel âLokisâ (this is also a âbearâ, only in Lithuanian) was repeatedly reprinted and staged in the theater and cinema.
These images take us far from the substitute word - "he who loves honey." But how our ideas about human nature develop!
Teddy bear
Teddy bears (now they are made from a variety of soft and fluffy materials) are the most popular toy for children of the 20th and 21st centuries.
The expression "Teddy Bear" is of no less interest than the origin of the word "bear". Why exactly teddy?
"Go for a bear" is an ancient tradition in many countries. Therefore, Theodore Roosevelt, the American president, was offered to shoot a bear on a hunt. He refused - the idea to kill an already caught beast seemed to him unsuccessful.
The caricature in the newspaper caused an interesting reaction. Teddy Bear (a diminutive of Theodore) was sewn by toy sellers. In the early twentieth century, he received tremendous popularity.
Nowadays, exhibitions and festivals of old toys are held in different countries of the world, including those specially dedicated to teddy bears. Some of them are over a hundred years old. The cult of the bear has acquired new fun features.
World War I and "pocket teddy bears"
During World War I, a pocket teddy bear was a souvenir that English soldiers took with them. A series of such "kids" was released that reminded of the house, of those who are waiting for a return from the front. Now it is a collectible or heirloom.
The origin of the word "bear" is different in different languages, but the image of this beast is close to many peoples, is part of international culture.