"From time immemorial" is an expression that is often used in everyday speech. And its meaning for the most part is understandable. But as for its origin and spelling, they often cause difficulty.
Value
"From time immemorial" - the use of this phrase implies that we are talking about events that took place in very distant times, those that are difficult to remember.
As a rule, this well-established expression can be found in fiction, fairy tales, epics, historical chronicles. In everyday speech, it is most often used in a humorous-ironic sense or has a pronounced emotional coloring.
To better understand the interpretation of phraseology âfrom time immemorialâ, you should familiarize yourself with examples of its use.
Examples
As such, the following can be cited:
- The ruins of the ancient city have been used by locals as quarries for centuries. They threw marble and the remains of stones in the furnace and received lime.
- From time immemorial, people have composed prayers and various conspiracies designed for successful hunting. In addition, they tried to protect themselves from possible troubles.
- From time immemorial, the rite was performed in accordance with pagan custom. After all, there could be nothing else in this northern wilderness; worship of pagan gods always took place there.
- It is no accident that people from time immemorial have eaten eggs not thoughtlessly. The egg has always been considered a life-giving symbol.
- Crispy pickles salted in a tub have been a welcome treat for centuries. They were on the tables in the homes of noble people, and in the poor shack.
Synonyms
Allocate such:
- since olden times;
- always;
- primordially;
- how light stands;
- from time immemorial;
- from the eyelid;
- from a century of centuries;
- from time immemorial;
- syzveka;
- forever;
- forever;
- initially;
- iskonibe;
- from time immemorial;
- from time immemorial;
- from time immemorial;
- in advance;
- from the beginning;
- invariably;
- now and now;
- since ancient years;
- from time to time;
- sincerely;
- from time immemorial;
- long;
- sincerely;
- for a long time;
- since ancient times;
- long ago;
- a long time ago;
- from the depths of centuries.
Next, we will consider the question of how to spell âfrom time immemorialâ, and what is the origin of the first of its words.
Spelling
The question of how to write correctly - âfrom time immemorialâ or âfrom time immemorialâ, arises not by chance. This is due to the origin of the word. It was formed by combining the preposition "from" and the noun "bow", standing in the genitive case.
The word "bow" used to mean "custom." Today it is preserved in some dialects. Initially, it looked like "out of bow." Subsequently, the ending "a" as a result of reduction (reduction) was lost. And it turned out such a lexical unit as "from time immemorial", which is the correct spelling for today.
Both the end and the beginning
Thus, the original meaning of "immemorial" - "as usual." As for the etymology of the noun "bow," it is formed from the verb "to finish," meaning "to end."
These words have the same root as the word âendâ, this is the pro-Slavic root âhorseâ. An interesting fact is that it combines several meanings at once, two of which are directly opposite - this is the âendâ and âbeginningâ.
According to researchers, this is due to the fact that both of them are associated with concepts such as âfrontierâ, âlimitâ, âborderâ. And also with the fact that the end of something is, as a rule, the beginning of something else and vice versa.
Other values
At the root âkonâ it is also a ârowâ, âorderâ. From him, among other things, came:
- Old Russian "horse" - "limit";
- Russian âconâ - âhellâ, âpartyâ (in games);
- Ukrainian âkinâ - âcornerâ;
- Czech kon - âendâ, dokona - âcompletelyâ, âto the endâ.
The root "horse" is probably of Indo-European origin. It is associated with the ancient Indian adjective kaninas, which means "young," and the Greek kainos, which translates as "new."
Connection with the "law"
There is another version of the origin of the phrase âfrom time immemorialâ, linking it with the âlawâ. This noun is a common Slavic word and comes from the pro-Slavic zakon. It is formed using the prefix za and the root kon, denoting the end, beginning, border, limit. This was mentioned above.
But linguists derive its origin from the pro-Slavic verb kenti, which means âto advanceâ, âto appearâ. It is assumed that initially the noun "law" was interpreted as "that from which everything originates, on which everything is based."
Although the two versions considered do not contradict each other, the following nuance arises. If you follow the second version, the expression "from time immemorial" somewhat changes its interpretation relative to the previous one. If the first option is âaccording to the custom of the centuriesâ, then the second will mean âfrom the beginning of the centuriesâ, which is closer to today's understanding.
From time immemorial
The expression "from the beginning of centuries" is close to the phrase "from time immemorial." The meaning of both phraseological units practically coincides. Their etymology is similar. The word "from time immemorial" is Old Russian, formed from Old Slavonic. It was formed from the prefix âfromâ and the root âkonâ, bypassing the noun âbowâ, which suggests that its origin is earlier than that of âfrom time immemorialâ.
But there is a difference. What does it consist of? It consists in the fact that "primordially" is used in vocabulary inherent in religious tradition. Usually it was used relative to the deity when they emphasized its primordiality. For example, the Gospel of Matthew speaks of God as God, who created the masculine and female sexes from the very beginning. The Psalter says that the throne of God was established from time immemorial, God - from time immemorial.
One can cite examples of more modern use of phraseology, but also related to church subjects. So, in one of the art books there are words that primordially on the porch the place belonged to the poor.