The word "parrot": meaning, origin

The word "parrot" is used as a curse most often against Jews. But it is also used as a curse against any person. Why and how did this happen? The meaning of the word "parrot" we will try to find out in this article. So, more.

What does the word mean?

First of all, let us turn to the dictionary of D.N. Ushakov to find out the meaning of the word "parrot".

This is an abusive expression or meaning "sick scab". Parsh - a disease of the skin, hair and nails type fungus (mycosis). They also interpret the word and other dictionaries.

In the dictionary of Dahl there are such synonyms for the word "scab": "parch", "scaly". The word "scabby" is also often found and means roughly the same. For example, "the dog is scabby."

Sometimes "scab" was called dandruff ("parch"), and then the meaning of the word "parchati" changed somewhat - "fool parrot". A hint of untidiness, lack of well-being, a neglected kind of person was added. This could be attributed to vagabonds, drunkards and other sloppy personalities.

Word version of origin

There are several versions of the origin of the word "parrot". The first - the so-called all sick scabs. The second is the Jews. It so happened that all people of Jewish origin began to be called "parchment". Let us consider these assumptions in more detail.

Scab is a disease of the skin, hair or nails. It refers to mycosis, fungal diseases.

It is known that the Jews, when they served in the tsarist troops, often had fungal diseases (scab). Skin problems of such a plan are typical for this people. The Slavs always had a bath in honor. Steam was an excellent tool for cleansing the skin and fighting fungi.

And Jews, however, like many European nations, steamed away the steam room. They considered it unnatural and therefore more often than others suffered from fungal infections. Zagelman's notes (1898-1903), which investigated physical health, speak of a large percentage of scab (74.2%) diseases among Jewish soldiers. They were treated and examined in military St. Petersburg hospitals.

Since in the people they were dubbed "Jews," a single expletive expression - "the liquid parchment" - was obtained. This nickname sounds insulting, but it has become a steady turnover of the Russian language. And where did the word "Jew" come from? It turns out from the Czech Republic.

Similarity with the Czech language

The third version of the origin of the words "parrot" and "lion" connects them with linguistic similarity with words in the Czech language.

The offensive phrase has a different version of origin. It originates from the Czech language, in which the "Jew" has a direct meaning - "Jew", and "ashes" mean "money." The second word has somewhat changed over time.

Proceeding from this version, the phraseology ceases to be offensive. It directly means a Jew who has money. And the meaning of the word "parrot" changes to "money".