One More Time on the Origin of Russian Supir, Superik ‘Ring’
- Authors: Berezovich E.L.1, Kuchko V.S.1
-
Affiliations:
- Ural Federal University
- Issue: No 6 (2024)
- Pages: 52-71
- Section: From the History of the Russian Language
- URL: https://journals.rcsi.science/0131-6117/article/view/272189
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.31857/S0131611724060049
- ID: 272189
Abstract
The article focuses on the origin and functioning of the word supir, which means ‘a ring with a stone or glass insert’, and its variants (supirchik, superik, etc.) These problems were already discussed in detail by I. G. Dobrodomov on the pages of “Voprosy jazykoznanija” in 2009. The cases of its use (mainly in fiction) were presented there and the conclusions were drawn about the borrowed nature of these words. The author argued that they originated from the French soupir ‘sigh’ which actualized the idea of a ring as a memorable gift. We believe that this version lacks semantic and sociolinguistic foundations. We add extensive dialect materials with a wide geography of fixations to the already available data on the use of these words and propose a version about their native origin within the word family pir- / per- / por- (derivatives of Proto-Slavic *perti, *pyrǫ), to which, for instance, belongs the word zaperet’ (‘to lock’) in modern Russian. Thus, the internal form of these words reflects that the stone ‘is locked’ in the ring, that is, the word focuses on the fixation of the stone in the ring, which is an essential characteristic of this piece of jewelry.
Full Text

About the authors
Elena L. Berezovich
Ural Federal University
Author for correspondence.
Email: berezovich@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Ekaterinburg
Valeria S. Kuchko
Ural Federal University
Email: kuchko@inbox.ru
Russian Federation, Ekaterinburg
References
- Aksenton Yu. D. [Information about precious stones in the Izbornik of Svyatoslav 1073 and some other monuments]. Izbornik Svyatoslava 1973 g. [Izbornik of Svyatoslav 1073]. Moscow, Nauka, 1977, pp. 280–291. (In Russ.)
- Ashukin N. S., Ozhegov S. I., Filippov V. A. Slovar’ k p’esam A. N. Ostrovskogo [Dictionary of plays by A. N. Ostrovsky]. Moscow, Publ. House “Vesta”, 1993. 246 p.
- Belovinskii L. V. Rossiiskii istoriko-bytovoi slovar’ [Russian historical and household dictionary]. Moscow, N. Mikhalkov’s Studio “TRITE” Publ., Rossiiskii Arkhiv Publ., 1999. 526 p.
- Belyakova S. M. (ed.). Slovar’ russkikh starozhil’cheskikh govorov yuga Tyumenskoi oblasti [Dictionary of Russian old-timers dialects of the south of the Tyumen region]. Vol. 2. Tyumen’, Publ. House of Tyumen State Univ., 2014. 516 p.
- Blinova O. I. (ch. ed.). Vershininskii slovar’ [Dictionary of Vershinino]. Vol. 6. Tomsk, Publ. House of Tomsk Univ., 2002. 451 p.
- Bobryakov N. A. (resp. ed.). Irkutskii oblastnoi slovar’ [Irkutsk regional dictionary]. Iss. 3. Irkutsk, 1979. 146 p.
- Bobylev V. V. Istoricheskaya gemmologiya. Gemmokhronologiya [Historical gemology. Hemochronology]. Moscow, Publ. House of All-Russian Research Geological Oil Institute, 2000. 178 p.
- Bogatova G. A. (ch. ed.). Slovar’ russkogo yazyka XI–XVII vv. [Dictionary of the Russian language of the 10th — 17th centuries]. Iss. 23. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1996. 253 p.
- Dobrodomov I. G. [Historical and etymological puns and philological reliability of lexical and phraseological material]. Voprosy yazykoznaniya, 2009, no. 4, pp. 92–109. (In Russ.)
- Druzhinina M. F. Slovar’ russkikh starozhil’cheskikh govorov na territorii Yakutii. R–Ya: uchebnoe posobie [Dictionary of Russian old-time dialects on the territory of Yakutia. R–Ya: textbook]. Yakutsk, Publ. House of Yakut Univ., 2007. 190 p.
- Elistratov V. S. Yazyk staroi Moskvy: Lingvoentsiklopedicheskii slovar’. Okolo 4 000 edinits [The Language of Old Moscow: A Linguoencyclopedic Dictionary. About 4,000 units]. Moscow, Russkie Slovari Publ., 1997. 701 p.
- Epishkin N. I. Istoricheskii slovar’ gallitsizmov russkogo yazyka [Historical dictionary of gallicisms of the Russian language]. Moscow, ETS Publ., 2010. Available at: http://rus-yaz.niv.ru/doc/gallism-dictionary/index.htm (accessed 20.08.2024).
- Fasmer M. Etimologicheskii slovar’ russkogo yazyka [Etymological dictionary of the Russian language]. Vol. III. Moscow, Progress Publ., 1987. 832 p.
- Fedorov A. I. (ed.). Slovar’ russkikh govorov Novosibirskoi oblasti [Dictionary of Russian dialects of the Novosibirsk region]. Novosibirsk, Nauka Publ., 1979. 609 p.
- Fedorov A. I. (ed.). Slovar’ russkikh govorov Sibiri [Dictionary of Russian dialects of Siberia]. Vol. 5. Novosibirsk, Nauka Publ., 2006. 395 p.
- Fel’de (Borkhval’dt) O. V. (resp. ed.). Slovar’ russkikh govorov tsentral’nykh raionov Krasnoyarskogo kraya [Dictionary of Russian dialects of the central regions of the Krasnoyarsk territory]. Vol. 4. Krasnoyarsk, Editorial and Publ. Department of the Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical Univ., 2008. 296 p.
- Filin F. P. (ch. ed.). Slovar’ russkikh narodnykh govorov [Dictionary of Russian folk dialects]. Iss. 5. Leningrad, Nauka Publ., 1970. 345 p.; Iss. 9. Leningrad, Nauka Publ., 1972. 362 p.; Iss. 10. Leningrad, Nauka Publ., 1974. 389 p.
- Filin F. P. (resp. ed.). Slovar’ russkikh govorov Priamur’ya [Dictionary of Russian dialects of the Amur region]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1983. 344 p.
- Florenskii P. A. Sobranie chastushek Kostromskoi gubernii Nerekhtskogo uezda [Collection of ditties of the Nerekhtsky district of the Kostroma province]. Moscow, Sovetskaya Rossiya Publ., 1989. 112 p.
- Galavanova V. A., Sorokoletov F. P. (ed.). Slovar’ sovremennogo russkogo literaturnogo yazyka [Dictionary of modern Russian literary language]. Vol. XIII. Moscow, Leningrad, Publ. House of the AS USSR, 1962. 1516 p.
- Getsova O. G. (ed.). Arkhangel’skii oblastnoi slovar’ [Arkhangelsk regional dictionary]. Iss. 5. Moscow, Publ. House of Moscow State Univ., 1987. 160 p.
- Gorodin L. Slovar’ russkikh argotizmov. Leksikon katorgi i lagerei imperatorskoi i sovetskoi Rossii [Dictionary of Russian argotisms. The lexicon of penal servitude and camps of Imperial and Soviet Russia]. Moscow, Publishing program of the Museum of the History of the Gulag and the Memorial Fund, 2021. 336 p.
- Iokoyama O. B. [Late borrowed vocabulary in peasants’s letters of the 19th century]. Yazyk v dvizhenii: K 70-letiyu L. P. Krysina [Language in motion: to the 70th anniversary of L. P. Krysin]. Moscow, Yazyki Slavyanskoi Kul’tury Publ., 2007, pp. 214–223. (In Russ.)
- Kashevskaya Yu. I. (resp. ed.). Slovar’ russkikh govorov Pribaikal’ya [Dictionary of Russian dialects of the Baikal region]. Iss. 4. Irkutsk, Publ. House of Irkutsk Univ., 1989. 145 p.
- Kopytov N. Yu., Podyukov I. A., Chernykh A. V. Slovar’ russkikh govorov Komi-Permyatskogo okruga [Dictionary of Russian dialects of the Komi-Permyak district]. Perm’, Publ. House PONITsAA, 2006. 272 p.
- Krys’ko V. B. (ch. ed.). Slovar’ drevnerusskogo yazyka (XІ–XIV vv.) [Dictionary of the Old Russian language (11th — 14th centuries)]. Vol. X. Moscow, Azbukovnik Publ., 2013. 656 p.
- Kubalov B. G. [Amur company. 1858–1865 (On the history of capitalism in Siberia). Preface, publication and notes by A. N. Garashchenko]. Dekabristskoe kol’tso. Vestnik Irkutskogo muzeya dekabristov: sb. st. [The Decembrist Ring. Bulletin of the Irkutsk Museum of the Decembrists: Collection of articles]. Iss. 5. Irkutsk, Publ. House of the Irkutsk Museum of the Decembrists, 2020, pp. 35–121. (In Russ.)
- Matveev A. K. (ch. ed.). Slovar’ russkikh govorov Srednego Urala [Dictionary of Russian dialects of the Middle Urals]. Iss. 6. Sverdlovsk, Publ. House of the Ural Univ., 1987. 160 p.
- Matveev A. K. Slovar’ govorov Russkogo Severa [Dictionary of dialects of the Russian North]. Vol. 3. Ekaterinburg, Publ. House of the Ural Univ., 2005. 388 p.; Vol. 5. Ekaterinburg, Publ. House of the Ural Univ., 2011. 358 p.
- Mel’nichenko G. G. (scient. ed.). Yaroslavskii oblastnoi slovar’ [Yaroslavl Regional Dictionary]. Iss. 4. Yaroslavl, Publ. House of Yaroslavl State Pedagogical Inst., 1985. 148 p.; Iss. 9. Yaroslavl, Publ. House of Yaroslavl State Pedagogical Instit., 1990. 127 p.
- Myznikov S. A. (ch. ed.). Slovar’ russkikh narodnykh govorov [Dictionary of Russian folk dialects]. Iss. 47. St. Petersburg, Nauka Publ., 2014. 354 p.
- Nefedova E. A. (ed.). Arkhangel’skii oblastnoi slovar’ [Arkhangelsk Regional Dictionary]. Iss. 18. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 2017. 400 p.
- Osipov B. I. (resp. ed.). Slovar’ russkikh starozhil’cheskikh govorov Srednego Priirtysh’ya: Dopolneniya [Dictionary of Russian old-timers dialects of the Middle Irtysh region: Additions]. Iss. 1. Omsk, Omsk State Univ., 1998. 155 p.
- Palagina V. V. (ed.). Slovar’ russkikh starozhil’cheskikh govorov srednei chasti basseina r. Obi [Dictionary of Russian old-timers dialects of the middle part of the Ob River basin]. Vol. 3. Tomsk, Publ. House of Tomsk Univ., 1967. 252 p.
- Postnikova-Loseva M. M. Russkoe yuvelirnoe iskusstvo, ego tsentry i mastera. XVI–XIX vv. [Russian jewelry art, its centers and masters. 16th — 19th centuries]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1974. 371 p.
- Postnikova-Loseva M. M., Platonova N. G., Ul’yanova B. L. Zolotoe i serebryanoe delo XV–XX vv. (Territoriya SSSR) [Gold and silver business of the 15th — 20th centuries. (Territory of the USSR)]. Moscow, Publ. House “Yunves”, “Trio” Publ., 1995. 373 p.
- Rogozhnikova R. P. (resp. ed.). Redkie slova v proizvedeniyakh avtorov XIX v.: Slovar’-spravochnik [Rare words in the works of the authors of the 19th century: Dictionary-reference]. Moscow, Russkie Slovari Publ., 1997. 570 p.
- Sadretdinova G. A. (ed.). Slovar’ russkikh starozhil’cheskikh govorov Srednego Priirtysh’ya [Dictionary of Russian old-timers dialects of the Middle Irtysh region]. Vol. 3. Tomsk, Publ. House of Tomsk Univ., 1993. 358 p.
- Shaposhnikov V. I. Krasnosel’skie yuveliry [Krasnoselsky jewelers]. Yaroslavl, Upper Volga Book Publ. House, 1969. 60 p.
- Smetanina Z. V. (ed.). Oblastnoi slovar’ vyatskikh govorov [Regional dictionary of Vyatka Dialects]. Iss. 10. Kirov, Publ. House “Raduga-PRESS”, 2016. 282 p.
- Sorokoletov F. P. (ch. ed.). Slovar’ russkikh narodnykh govorov [Dictionary of Russian folk dialects]. Iss. 36. St. Petersburg, Nauka Publ., 2002. 344 p.; Iss. 39. St. Petersburg, Nauka Publ., 2005. 343 p.; Iss. 42. St. Petersburg, Nauka Publ., 2010. 330 p.
- Timofeev V. P., Timofeeva O. V. Dialektnyi slovar’ lichnosti: okolo 11 500 slov [Dialect dictionary of personality: about 11,500 words]. Shadrinsk, Shadrinskii Dom Pechati, 2010. 595 p.
- Toibl K. Yuvelirnoe delo [Jewelry business]. Transl. from Czech by A. N. Ustinovich. Moscow, Legkaya i Pishchevaya Promyshlennost’ Publ., 1982. 194 p.
- Tsareva L. S. [Maiden costume of linear stanitsas]. Molodezh’ i molodezhnye subkul’tury etnosov i etnicheskikh grupp YuFO. Traditsii i sovremennost’ [Youth and youth subcultures of ethnoses and ethnic groups of the Southern Federal District. Traditions and modernity]. Krasnodar, Press-Imidzh Publ., 2008–2009, pp. 159–171. (In Russ.)
- Vostrikov O. V. Traditsionnaya kul’tura Urala. Etnoideograficheskii slovar’ russkikh govorov Sverdlovskoi oblasti. Vyp. III. Narodnaya estetika. Sem’ya i rodstvo. Obryady i obychai [The traditional culture of the Urals. Ethnoideographic dictionary of Russian dialects of the Sverdlovsk region. Issue III. Folk aesthetics. Family and kinship. Rituals and customs]. Ekaterinburg, Publ. House of the Sverdlovsk Regional House of Folklore, 2000. 200 p.
- Zenkova O. B., Romashkina S. N. Narodnyi khudozhestvennyi promysel “Severnaya chern’” [Folk art craft “Northern Niello”]. Veliky Ustyug, Publ. House Vologzhanin, [2007]. 131 p.
- Zvereva Yu. V., Rusinova I. I., Chernykh A. V. Traditsionnyi kostyum narodov Permskogo kraya. Russkie. Tematicheskii slovar’ leksiki odezhdy [Traditional costume of the peoples of the Perm region. Russians. A thematic dictionary of clothing vocabulary]. St. Petersburg, Publ. House “Mamatov”, 2019. 431 p.
