Lexum "Blessed". Meaning of the word

This is a unique case where the same epithet can have both a negative and a positive connotation. Such a contrast did not arise by chance. But first things first.

"Blessed": the meaning of the word

A word can mean:

- extremely happy;

- St;

- abnormal, foolish, quietly mixed.

The amplitude of human characteristics, which can be designated by this word, is more than wide. Therefore, one must be careful with the epithet. And to offend, and to make a compliment it is possible by means of a lexeme "blessed". The meaning of a word depends on the context. But where did it come from in the Russian lexicon?

Etymology

In the Old Slavonic language was the word "sick", which meant happiness. Until now, only his brief form of "good" has survived, which was preserved in the form of a noun and in the composition of individual words ("bless", "favor", "thank"). Also in the Old Slavonic vocabulary there was a single-root verb "blahiti" meaning "to read", "to make happy", "to praise". The word under discussion was part of the paradigm of this part of the speech as a passive participle. Therefore, he whom he praised was called blessed. Up to now, this meaning has been transformed, and the word itself has migrated from one part of the speech to the other - from the communion became an adjective, and also a noun.

What does the word "blessed" mean today?

Happy

This word calls a person not just in a state of happiness, but in its highest degree. He comprehended the meaning of his destiny, he felt the fullness of life, inner satisfaction with the conditions of his being. The epithet discussed is applied to a person when his sense of happiness has reached its peak and it can not even be described in words. Derived from it, the noun "bliss" has about the same semantics.

Most often the word is used in religious literature. For example, in the translations of the Bible into Russian on the site of the Greek "Makarios", the Jewish "asher", the Latin "beatus" stands the Russian "blessed". The meaning of the word "holy fool" is more familiar to the modern reader, so he may get confused. Take, for example, even the famous lines from the Gospel of Matthew, which read that "blessed are the hungry and thirsty for righteousness, for they shall be filled." Although we are talking about happy people, we can conclude that the mentally ill.

The verb "to please" has a slightly different connotation of meaning - "to satisfy", "to fulfill all desires".

St

In this sense, the word refers to obsolete lexicon. Blessed are those whom the church regards as already saved and dwelling in heaven. In Latin, the procedure for assigning to the saints is called beatification. This means that such a person will be honored as close to God. The next step is canonization. For example, such a title was awarded to the theologians Augustine and Jerome. Of the contemporaries, Mother Teresa Blazhennaya is the most famous. The meaning of the word "holy" can be determined not only by context, but also by the capital letter with which this epithet is written.

Who has not heard about St. Basil the Blessed, after whom the temple in Moscow is named? He was ranked among the saints and is very revered in the Russian Orthodox Church. He was born directly on the porch in 1469 in the vicinity of Moscow. Almost all his life, Vasily walked completely naked and spent the whole year in the open air. For this he was called Blessed, because they believed that he received a revelation from above and taught such people behavior of morality. It is believed that he was the only person who was afraid of Ivan the Terrible. After the death of Basil, he ordered to build a cathedral on the site of his burial and called the temple his name.

The holy fool

In this case, this is a noun. In order to describe a fool, a stupid or insane person, and the lexeme "blessed" is used. The meaning of the word has a negative connotation, although it is used mostly not to offend, but when it is necessary to gently emphasize the presence of a mental illness in a person or some kind of strangeness in him.

Most likely, the lexical meaning of the word "blessed" acquired a negative connotation due to the fact that the saints were considered mentally abnormal people. They were credited with the gift of divination and higher insight, and their emotional state was explained by the fact that they, they say, communicate with God and are in a prophetic trance. A vivid example of this is the same Vasily the Blessed. In the modern world, such people are usually sent to hospitals for the mentally ill. And earlier, when such a field of medical science as psychiatry did not exist, thought that this is how a person close to God should behave.

This meaning gave life to the noun "whim". So they call a ridiculous whim, an insane venture, a fad. Although it does not harm, it is stupid and useless in its essence, as well as holy old men who walk without clothes.

Here are some interesting facts about just one polisemic word.