Indo-European linguistics and classical philology
K. I. Kovalenko I. M. Kovalchuk. Plant names of Greek origin in the Novgorod azbukovnik of the 16th century Semantic features of the lexemes denoting natural phenomena in similes of Russian spells’ ratifications (zakrepka) (pp. 444–451)
Author
K. I. Kovalenko I. M. Kovalchuk (Institute for Linguistic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences National Pedagogical Dragomanov University, Kiev)
Keywords\n Plant name, phytonym, lexicon, azbukovnik, Old Russian literature, Greek loanwords incantation, Slavic folklore, comparison, vehicle of comparison, basis of comparison
Pages\n 444–451
Summary\n
The Novgorod azbukovnik is one of the lexicographical compilations of the 16–17th centuries which explain foreign words and collocations. It was written by the clergyman Dimitry in Novgorod the Great in 1596. The original manuscript did not survive and the only copy that has safely arrived in our hands dates from the beginning of the 17th century. It is housed in the Russian National Library, M. P. Pogodin’s collection, № 1642. The lexicon explains about one hundred plant names of Greek origin transliterated in Cyrillic letters, such as арноглоса (cf.  ρνόγλωσσον ‘plantain, Plantago major’), киминъ (cf. κύμινον ‘cummin, Cuminum Cyminum’), мирсина (cf. μυρσίνη ‘myrtle, Myrtus communis’), синапъ (cf. σίναπι ‘mustard, Sinapis alba’), елура (cf. φιλύρα ‘lime tree, Tilia platyphyllos’) and others. As a definition the compiler used Russian equivalents, hypernyms (трава ‘herb’ or дерево ‘tree’) or just described the look of a plant, the taste of its fruits or how a plant was used. For example, Mirisi is a herb which is not used anywhere, the bees do not scent it, and it is green even in winter. There were also some other types of information which were occasionally given in the lexicon entries. Initial letters over the headwords show the source language of the transliterated word: г for греческий 'Greek' or ел for еллинский 'Hellenic'. The literary or lexicographical sources from which the plant names (sometimes with explanation) were taken by the compiler include books of the New Testament, the Synaxarion, the works of Maximus the Greek, John Climacus’s Ladder of Divine Ascent and so on. Some other sources were determined during the investigation. The examination of other lexicons of this period will help us to discover more Greek plant names known by Russian literary scholars. The article analyzes the semantics of lexemes denoting natural elements and natural phenomena used in similes of the final element of Russian magical incantations termed zakrepka. This usage is systematically compared with stock comparisons that appear elsewhere. It is argued that lexemes signifying “strong” (krepkij) or denoting unalterability serve as basis for the comparison, and that objects chosen as vehicles of the simile (such as stone, moon, star, etc.) are endowed with magic powers in Slavic folklore.
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