Guzh is ... The meaning of the word

Proverbs of the Russian language are familiar to us from childhood. Intuitively, their meaning is clear to us, we use familiar idioms primarily in a figurative sense. The direct meaning of some primordially Russian words already causes difficulties in interpretation. One of these semi-intelligible terms is "hug". This word is often found in classical literature. What does it mean?

Origin

Many of the Old Russian words originate from the Slavic roots - after all, the culture and customs of our Slavic ancestors were similar. The priests lived in similar territorial and climatic conditions, used similar tools. Not surprisingly, the names of similar items in such an environment were almost identical. In different Slavic languages the meaning of the word "dug" meant part of the harness - ox or horse; A wide belt leading from the yoke to the cart.

The word "gug" and its synonyms

The word is closely related to the all-Russian root "ties" - to bind, knit. It echoes and with the Russian dyuzh - which means strong, strong.

Only strong, healthy animals could carry luggage. So gradually the word has acquired synonyms: hefty, strong, powerful ... In modern literary speech, the word "ailment" has been preserved, as the opposite of "diners". This word in modern Russian is explained as a weakness, a disease.

Direct and portable value

Guzh is a complex concept that covers not only the movement of land cargo. In Russia, the ridge is a rope loop for oars, which are used in boats or on rowing vessels. But basically the name was used in the designation of land transport - it's not for nothing that transportation with the help of animals and is now called crawling. Of course, in Russia the labor of the most people was often used as a draft force. A classic example is the bleak picture of Repin "Burlaki on the Volga".

The picture shows how people pull the barge across the Volga, using the same hodge - though, at that time it was called a little differently. Working conditions were inhuman - pulling barges accounted for 12-15 hours, and women and children worked on a par with men, and received much less money. Barge haulers were supposed to deliver the barge to the destination on time. If this was not possible, all those who were drawn received only a part of their earnings or did not receive it at all. Therefore, it was necessary to tackle the ridge with the firm goal: to perform the task in time and to the end.

The gus in proverbs

Perhaps, it was from the barge haulers that the expression "take hold of the ridge" came to us - it means to start performing a heavy, labor-intensive work that can not be abandoned halfway. Hence the numerous proverbs that support this definition. The most common and popular of them is "took to the ridge - do not say that it is not dumb." This means: if you already started for any work, then it must be done to the end. It is interesting that during the time of V. Dal, the proverb was explained somewhat differently - this word should be kept. And now the proverb more implies an act, not a word.