Nowadays, new life has found an old French word "elite".It is a term that most commonly designated elite society in magazines, newspapers and other media.However, the original meaning of this term, in fact, as well as its literal translation from the native language, a little different from the usual for us, the Russian people of interpretation.Well, try to understand the meaning of the word "elite" and its origin.And also find its reflection in the Russian language and oral literature.
translation and meaning of the term
If you use the French-Russian dictionary, our word "elite" - the two French words "best light", or simply "good light."Of course, even in the 19th century, the term was not used much verbatim (for example, to describe the radiance of the sun), and he served as a generic term for a group of people who have achieved some heights in a particular branch of culture or art.Then, in Europe and in Russia there beau monde of artists, and apart from the beau monde were poets and writers.Some time after such sharp distinctions considered inappropriate, and it became a symbol of the French word for all the people who are related to the high society.These were not the only representatives of the arts, but also ordinary nobles, barons, maid of honor, and other persons of high rank.
Petersburg - the birthplace of Russian elite
word in the middle of the 19th century was the first widely used in the high society of our cultural capital.Due to the fact that in fashion was the use of French words in speech and writing, the term caught on quite good in the dialogues of the then people.After that, it was decided to make it into the dictionary of our mother tongue.For example, in 1863 the term "elite" first appeared in the common grammar of the Russian language, and it is no longer recorded Latin and Cyrillic.It should also be noted that the term's popularity grew steadily, and over the years there were such a thing as "elite County N», or "elite of Moscow", which perfectly lived up to our days.
When people forgot about it
With the advent of Soviet power in the Russian land is the French word has lost not only its value, but also popular in the society.All people "leveled with the same brush", so it was decided to allocate someone like in the "Upper Light", and someone to leave these limits.So the word slowly got out of the everyday lexicon, but at the end of the 20th century, regained its former position.Today, elite - the people who first achieved wealth.Among them you can find surgeons and dentists, actors and pop singers, models and businessmen, as well as a satellite and companions of those who took the most favorable place in this life.
Press and literature, which contains the term
If once again plunge into the depths of the past decades, one finds the term in a play by Anton Chekhov's "Drama on the hunt."After that, the word flashed in several poems and stories of lesser-known local authors.Today, the word "elite" is the name of a known telecast.Similarly, the names of some television projects, articles in magazines and newspapers, works of contemporary writers, who often put their works on the Internet.
