The couloirs are ... the meaning of the word

Today, we will analyze in detail the meaning of the word "lobby". Consider in what areas it is used and where it came from.

Etymology

Currently, it is very rarely used and almost out of the speech. It is indicated in the Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language and was borrowed in the XIX century from the French. It comes from the French couloir (corridor), which, in turn, was formed from the word couler (to run, leak).

Some sources link the origin of the word to Latin colare, which means "sift". But this version has no confirmation.

Lexical meaning of a word

The most common is the following. The corridors are narrow corridors and ancillary rooms in the buildings of parliament, theaters and concert halls, which are intended for rest during breaks and intermissions. Here you can interview or exchange views on the issue under discussion. Such premises are located on each floor of the building and adjoin to the halls of meetings and foyer.

In the political sphere, the words "backstage bargain" and "decision taken behind the scenes", which are used to characterize unofficial "behind-the-scenes" deals, were used.

The next meaning is the geographical term. Couloirs are hollows in the slopes of the mountains, which are directed downstream and towards the bottom are narrowed. They are divided into three types: ice (covered with dense ice), snow (determine the way snow and avalanches descend), rock (determine the path of water flow and the dumping of stones). Weathering products roll down and form cone screes.

Mountaineers often use couloirs to climb to the top (Norton's couloir on Mount Everest).

In the explanatory dictionary of SI Ozhegov it is said that the corridors are the environment of parliamentary circles (public and political), informal communication in this environment, as well as the secret agreements adopted in it. The latter is taken from the Historical Dictionary.

Correct use of word forms in speech

Now the word is practically not used in the singular. Couloirs - this is an inanimate masculine noun (ku-lu-ar), refers to the 2nd declension, the root of the couloir. From the word it is possible to form an adjective "backstage" and an adverb "behind the scenes".

This borrowed word can be found in various spheres of human activity - political, social, construction and scientific (geography). To date, the word "couloir" is often used in conversation with franzuzov, in Russia, rarely when it can be heard.