At the Origin of the Russian Etymological Lexicography: “The Experience of the Kinship of the Slavic-Russian Language and Greek” by Konstantin Economid

Abstract

Purpose. The origins of Russian etimological lexicography are of special interest for study. The famous Greek en-lightener, preacher and theologian Konstantin Economid was forced to flee to Russia in 1821, during the Greek uprising. Knowledge and abilities of K. Economid were in demand in Russian society: he was elected a member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and wrote and published a number of his works in Russia. One of the most significant works in the heritage of the Greek scientist is the work “Experience of the affinity of the language of Slavonic-Russian with Greek.” This work was written in Greek and translated into Russian in Vienna the by the Embassy’s priest Gavriil Menglicky. Results. “The experience of the kinship of the Slavic-Russian language and Greek” consists of three volumes. The first volume is devoted to the comparative analysis of the Russian and Church Slavonic languages - on the one hand, and the Greek language - on the other. The phonetics, word formation, morphology and syntax of the languages are compared. This is followed by the analysis of the Slavic and Greek alphabets and the sounds of these languages; the comparative analysis of the declension and conjugation of verbs, comparison of invariable parts of speech, comparative analysis of word formation nouns in Greek, Church Slavonic and Russian languages. The second and third volumes of the “Experience” are devoted to vocabulary. In these two volumes, Greek scholar gathered the Russian and Church Slavonic words, either directly borrowed from the Greek language, or ascending, according to the scientist, to the common ancestor of the Slavic, European and Asian languages - phracopelasgian language (the term of K. Economid). In the dictionary, the scientist gives his etymology of Russian and Church Slavonic words (and sometimes the etymology of other scientists). Conclusion . The study of this work of K. Economid, as well as the history of its creation in the broad context of science and social life of the era is important for the study of the history of the formation and development of Russian linguistics, and, in particular, Russian lexicography and etymology.