Formation of the concept of "benefit" in Russian language.

Abstract

The article discusses the formation of the concept of "Benefit" from a historical point of view. Based on the material of the literary language, its stages are determined on the basis of historical changes in the nominational structure of this fragment of the Russian linguistic image of the world. The first, prehistoric period, is associated with the most common native Slavic designation of the concept of "benefit" by the lexeme greed and its various regional names (extraction, gain, profit), realizing the motivational sign "result (material) that the subject aspired to". The next stage is the collision and interaction of the pagan interpretation of benefit, primarily as prey, with the Christian understanding of benefit as something that gives relief (soul and body), liberation (from sins and hardships of everyday life). The third and fourth stages are associated with the interpretation of the concept expressed by the word benefit on Russian soil. The preservation of the connection between the concept of "benefit" with the concepts of "relief" and "help" is evidenced by the data of a number of dialects and Dahl's dictionary.