Words that were proper words have become common nouns. What is a common and proper noun? Common noun in Russian and foreign literature

There are words that we use automatically in our speech, without thinking that some of them owe their origin to specific people. Of course, everyone knows that the months of July and August are named after emperors, the Olivier salad bears the name of its creator, and some units of measurement can also be included here, for example: volts, amperes, etc.

There are many such words. For example, a shirt sweatshirt has the most direct relation to the great writer - in many photographs Lev Nikolaevich is depicted in a thick shirt untucked. Many who called themselves students of the writer and were called Tolstoyans, wanting to emphasize their closeness to him, often appeared in shirts similar to those worn by Leo Tolstoy. This is how the untucked shirt began to be called a sweatshirt.

Word hooligan- English origin. It is believed that the surname Houlihan was once borne by a famous London brawler who caused a lot of trouble for city residents and the police. The Oxford Dictionary dates the frequent appearance of this Mr.'s name in police reports to 1898. The surname has become a common noun, and the word is international, characterizing a person who grossly violates public order.

But what, according to some sources, is the history of the origin of the word academy. The philosopher Plato often expounded his teachings in a shady grove near Athens. According to legend, the Attic hero Academus was buried in this grove. That's why it was called the Academy. At first the word became the name of Plato's school, and later - a certain type of educational institution and community of scientists.

Interesting origin of the word boycott. In the 19th century, an English earl hired a manager named Charles Cunningham Boycott for his estate in Ireland. Boycott was a harsh man, often punishing peasants and farmers, which aroused hatred on their part. People, having heard about his cruelty, refused to have anything to do with him and avoided communicating with him. Since then, punishing a person with complete isolation has come to be called a boycott.

Word mausoleum also has its own history. In 352 BC. King Mausolus died in the city of Halicarnassus (Asia Minor). According to the custom of those times, the king's corpse was burned and the ashes were placed in a funeral urn. According to one of the legends that has reached us, his widow Artemisia decided to build a huge tomb and thereby perpetuate the memory of her husband, whom she loved very much. Famous craftsmen were involved in the construction and decoration of the structure, including the court sculptor of Alexander the Great, Leocharus. The tomb was the height of a ten-story building. At the top stood a giant statue of the Mausoleum. The Halicarnassus tomb was called a mausoleum and ranked among the seven wonders of the world.

There are words that we often use, but at the same time we do not remember at all that they were once also someone’s names. We remembered the most unexpected of them, which are actually surnames.

Hooligan is the name of an Irish family with a very violent temperament. The main one was young Partick the Hooligan, whose name kept popping up in police reports and newspaper chronicles.

Chauvinism comes from the name of the Napoleonic soldier Nicolas Chauvin, who served Napoleon and France especially zealously and had a habit of expressing his patriotism and the exclusivity of his country in pathetic, popular speeches. What is noteworthy is that the surname comes from the word “bald” (calvinus).

Saxophone. Adolphe Sax presented his invention as the “mouthpiece ophicleide.” This instrument was called a saxophone by the inventor's friend, composer Hector Berlioz, in an article dedicated to the invention, and the word immediately became popular.

Sandwich. John Montagu IV Earl of Sandwich was preparing James Cook's round-the-world expedition, and since he had no time to be distracted by food, he came up with a simple and convenient sandwich.

Boyk from. Briton Charles Boycott worked as a manager for a landowner in Ireland. One day the workers went on strike and began to ignore the Englishman. And thanks to the British press, which covered these events, the surname Boycott became a household name.

Jacuzzi. The Italian Candido Jacuzzi invented the Jacuzzi (jacuzzi is an incorrect “American” pronunciation of this Italian surname, which, however, is firmly rooted in many languages ​​of the world).

Olivie. Chef Lucien Olivier is known as the creator of the recipe for the famous salad, which remained a secret that Olivier never divulged until his death.

Beef Stroganoff. The French chef Count Alexander Grigorievich Stroganov invented this dish. In French, it sounds like bœuf Stroganoff, that is, “beef Stroganoff style.”

Quirk. The German doctor Christian Ivanovich Loder opened an Artificial Mineral Water Establishment, where he advised patients to walk briskly for three hours. Ordinary people, looking at this fuss, came up with the expression “chasing a quitter.”

Charlatan. The word charlatan, according to legend, comes from the name of the French doctor Charles Latain. He carried out meaningless operations, promising a complete recovery, and, having received the money, went into hiding. And the unfortunate patients only got worse.

Nonsense. French physician Galli Mathieu believed in the healing power of laughter. He treated patients with laughter, making them laugh with jokes and various nonsense.

Libel. In Rome there lived a sharp-tongued citizen named Pasquino. The people loved him very much. One day, not far from Pasquino’s house, a statue was erected, which was popularly named in his honor. The Romans began to cover the statue at night with leaflets in which they spoke sarcastically about their rulers.

Bluetooth (blue tooth - literally “blue tooth”). The developers named this technology in honor of the Viking king Harald I Bluetooth (Harald Blåtand), who united Denmark and Norway.

July and August. July is named after Julius Caesar. Augustus - in honor of the Roman emperor Octavian Augustus.

Maecenas. The first philanthropist known to history was called Guy Tsilniy Maecenas.

Silhouette. Etienne de Silhouette was the controller of finances in France, but after a failed attempt at reform he was forced to leave his post. Then he invented a new method of entertainment - tracing a person’s shadow on the wall. His guests liked this idea so much that the Silhouette’s fame spread throughout Europe.

Attic. The architect Francois Mansart was the first to use the under-roof attic space for residential and commercial purposes. Since then, the attic floor under a steep pitched roof has been called an attic.

Cardigan. General James Thomas Brudnell, seventh Chief of the County of Cardigan, invented this piece of clothing.

There are people who leave their mark on history with the help of great deeds and achievements, there are those who write great books or create brilliant suites. And there are people whose own names become household names. It seems to me that this is the highest degree of recognition and influence for future generations.

Charles Boycott worked as a manager for Lord Erne, an Irish landowner. In 1880, as part of the fight for fair rents, the right to remain on the land and the right to buy land freely, the Land League of Ireland withdrew the local labor needed to harvest crops on Lord Erne's estate. When Boycott began to fight against this strike, the League began a campaign to isolate Boycott from local society. Neighbors stopped talking to him, stores refused to serve him, and at church people wouldn't sit next to him or talk to him. Boycott left Ireland on 1 December that year. And his name entered most languages ​​of the world, becoming synonymous with peaceful resistance and political protest.

Source: img.joinfo.ua

Famous German Formula 1 racer. Seven-time world champion, two-time world vice-champion and three-time bronze medalist. Thanks to his numerous victories, the surname Schumacher has become a household name, as they say about people who love speed and driving fast.

Source: nashaplaneta.su

King of the Jews who reigned for about 35 years. He was described as "a madman who killed his family and many rabbis", "the evil genius of the Jewish nation", "willing to commit any crime to please his unlimited ambitions", and "the greatest builder in Jewish history." Today Herod is a name given to a cruel man, a torturer.

Source: 2queens.ru

German-Austrian writer, Rusyn by origin, son of the Galician police president. From childhood, Leopold grew up as a weak and fragile child; at an early age he witnessed the atrocities that accompanied the revolutions in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy (first 1846, then 1848). Another test that traumatized the young man’s psyche was his first love for Anna Kotwitz, who was much older than him. Their sexual relationship was sadomasochistic in nature. Being a historian by training, he left university work early and quickly became one of the most popular writers in Austria, and also edited a number of magazines. In 1886, psychiatrist and neurologist Richard von Krafft-Ebing unveiled a new concept in psychiatry and sexopathology associated with the work of Leopold Sacher-Masoch - masochism.

Source: upload.wikimedia.org

Prominent statesman of Ancient Rome. During the civil war, Maecenas sided with Augustus and often carried out his important assignments. At the end of the war, he lived in Rome and, in the absence of Octavian Augustus, was in charge of state affairs, without holding any official position. Being the most influential and trusted friend and assistant of Augustus, he took part in all the actions of the emperor to organize the state and consolidate power. Ambition, envy, ill will were completely alien to him. He used his closeness to Augustus only to restrain passionate impulses, which often drove the emperor to cruelty. The best poets of that time found in Maecenas an attentive and caring patron and protector; his services to them are at the same time his services to Roman (Latin) poetry. An admirer of the foundations of Epicurean philosophy, Maecenas indulged in pleasures to an extent that even the Romans of that time seemed excessive. He died, warmly mourned by friends and all the people. He bequeathed all his property to Augustus.

Source: inspired.daikynguyenvn.com

Theoretical physicist, one of the founders of modern theoretical physics, winner of the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics, public figure and humanist. Einstein is the author of more than 300 scientific papers in physics, as well as about 150 books and articles in the field of history and philosophy of science, journalism, etc. He developed several significant physical theories, predicted gravitational waves and “quantum teleportation,” predicted and measured the Einstein gyromagnetic effect - de Haas. For many, the name Einstein has become synonymous with high mind and intelligence.

Source: www.taziosecchiaroli.it

Famous Italian photographer and reporter. Born in 1925 on one of the Roman outskirts. In 1944 he became a photographer, photographing American soldiers and tourists on the streets of Rome. In 1951, he was accepted into the Vedo agency, which belonged to Adolfo Pastorel, one of the fathers of Italian photojournalism, from whom he learned all the secrets of the photographer's craft. In 1955, together with Sergio Spinelli, he founded the Roma Press Photo agency. Soon, the famous Italian director Federico Fellini shot the film “La Dolce Vita”, one of the heroes of which was the photographer Paparazzo. The prototype of this hero was Tazio Secchiaroli. Since then, the word paparazzi has been used to describe all annoying photographers.

Source: a.d-cd.net

French writer (marquis is part of his literary pseudonym). His characteristic combination of cruelty and debauchery was called sadism. In 1768 he was tried and imprisoned for violence against a woman, but by order of King Louis XV the prosecution was stopped. In 1772 he was sentenced to death by parliament “for sodomy and poisoning.” He escaped, was arrested, escaped again and was captured again; the death sentence was commuted to imprisonment. In 1784 he was transferred to the Bastille, where he began writing his pornographic novels and dramas. Having discovered signs of insanity, he was transferred to Charenton, but in 1790 he received his freedom. In 1791, the most famous of his novels appeared, Justine ou Les malheurs de la vertu (“Justine, or the Misadventures of Virtue”), which was published in a second edition in 1797, with even more disgusting episodes; its continuation was the novel Juliette (“Juliette”) (1798). In 1801, the publication of these novels was confiscated, and de Sade was imprisoned. He died mentally ill.

Source: pbs.twimg.com

Comptroller General of Finance in France under Louis XV. Born in Limoges. Traveling around Europe, he lived in London, where he studied practical economics and the financial system of Great Britain. Upon returning to Paris, he translated several English scientific works on economics, which made him famous. In March 1759 he was appointed Comptroller General of France. Tried to reform the tax system and reduce the exorbitant expenses of the royal court. The harsh austerity measures introduced by de Silhouette aroused sharp criticism from court circles. In November 1759, Silhouette was forced to leave his post. The word “silhouette” in the meaning of the outline of an object came into use after a caricature was drawn of E. de Silhouette in the form of a shadow profile.

Many of these words are familiar to us from childhood. Let's take a closer look at the historical figures whose names have become household names.

Maecenas

Guy Maecenas was a statesman in the Roman Empire. Friendly relations with the emperor allowed Maecenas to openly express his position on most issues. Often she differed from the opinion of the head of state.

In fact, Guy Tsilniy was the Minister of Culture. He spent most of his time supporting talented people: scientists, artists, poets. He gave Horace a whole estate, and Virgil was able to return the illegally taken housing. The death of Maecenas was a serious loss for the people of Rome.

Lovelace

Sir Robert Lovelace is a skilled lover from the book “Clarissa”, authored by S. Richardson. The novel was published during the dawn of the Enlightenment. The heroine of the story is a sixteen-year-old girl of noble origin who wants to marry a wealthy but unloved man.

Lovelace kidnaps Clarissa and settles with her in a brothel, where the prostitutes he hires play the role of the young man's noble cousins. Clarissa, no matter how hard the kidnapper tries, does not respond to his feelings. Then he deprives her of her virginity by giving her sleeping pills. Even after this, the girl refuses to marry the man and dies.

And at the end of the story, Lovelace dies in a duel.

Boycott

This form of rebellion was named after the British retired officer Charles Boycott. He was the manager of an estate in Ireland that belonged to a noble lord.

The crop failure triggered famine. Many residents of Ireland decided to leave the region, then the trade union organization demanded reform. It should have allowed the purchase of plots of land and set adequate rents for the use of these plots.

Boycott began laying off workers. Then the Irish Land League did everything possible to prevent him from hiring people. In addition, Boycott and his family became “untouchable.” Neighbors did not communicate with them, postmen did not deliver correspondence, and shopkeepers did not sell food. In 1880 Captain Bycott was forced to leave Ireland and then Great Britain.

Shrew

According to Greek mythology, Megaera is the goddess of revenge. With her sisters the Furies, she was reborn from the blood of Uranus. Megaera lives in Hades, where she punishes people for murder and adultery.

Mr Hooligan lived in Britain in the 19th century. The police listed him as a thief and troublemaker. However, not only Patrick Hooligan had a difficult temperament, but also all his relatives.

The family allegedly owned an inn. They said that Hooligans kill and rob guests. There were also rumors that this family were the owners of a private school whose students were brutally treated.

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