"Colleague" is who? Colleagues for work and not only. The ironic meaning of the word "colleague"

"Colleague" is a word that immediately reminds a person about work. Is there an association of this kind, we will discuss today. Of course, it will not do without a brief historical excursus.

Origin

As you can understand, "colleague" is a word not Slavic, but Latin. To us, to Russia, it came from the Polish language at a time when Peter the First actively borrowed not only foreign technologies, but also overseas words. However, opinions vary here, and some experts assert that the word "colleague" came to us directly from Latin. So it is "jointly elected". It is also interesting that in ancient Rome "colleagues" are those people who worshiped the same god.

Who can be a colleague?

As it was said at the beginning, the first association that the word "colleague" evokes is certainly related to work. You can meet a man on the street and ask him: "A colleague is who?" The passer-by, most likely, without hesitation, will say that colleagues are people with whom a person divides a room, for example, an office from 9 to 17. And this is the correct interpretation, but it is incorrect to think that it is the only one. In addition to work, people can be associated with:

• Study;
• hobby;
• Interests;
• Beliefs.

And what is surprising, all those forms and spheres of human activity that stand behind the above definitions cover the meaning of the word "colleague". But many people do not even think about it. What can I say, this is the great and mighty Russian language.

About humor, irony and meaning of the word

The connection between the "colleague" and "work" is so ingrained in consciousness that other values are simply not perceived by the person. That is, most people understand when they say "colleagues at work." But if the word is given a different meaning, it seems that the person is sarcastic. The "colleague" outside the labor context looks slightly pathetic and out of place, therefore the word torn from the familiar surroundings seems to be a mockery to the person to whom it is drawn. In fairness, I must say that this is usually the case.

If you recall the popular talk show, conducted by Dmitry Nagiyev, he often called participants in the action "colleagues." Although they could be united only by one - play-acting. Thus, on the one hand, D. Nagiyev quite definitely mocked the people involved in the show, and on the other hand, transparently hinted to the viewer that the whole show was a performance.

A colleague at work is who?

After it became obvious that the word "colleague" is almost bottomless in meaning, we can make out the word combination that everyone uses without even thinking about. However, despite the erosion of the expression, not everyone can understand exactly what is being said. In this case, we are talking about the phrase "colleagues at work." Usually, when they say so, people are meant who are in the same room 8 hours a day. For example, a person at a person asks:

- And who is this?

- They are colleagues at work.

Imagination immediately draws a picture that people work in one collective, and they are connected, as a rule, with "horizontal" relationships, that is, they do not differ in principle salary and functions.

Note that, for example, we hardly call a boss a "colleague", although technically it is. But there is a sense of distance and the heterogeneity of two people. At the same time, the leader can be the kindest and most beautiful person, but still the distance will be preserved, because a person depends on the boss, on his opinion of himself.

One can even make a strange assumption, which will bring together the historical origin of the word and the modern meaning. The Romans were colleagues, they were united by one god, to whom they prayed. Contemporary colleagues are united by one chief, whom they try to serve, to like, so as not to lose their position.

If we go back to the linguistic layer, strictly speaking, our colleagues are all those people who share with the person his life (in all its diversity), interests and beliefs. Hierarchy and subordination here has absolutely nothing to do with it. A colleague is a person close in spirit or profession to his brother.