Is it possible to derive some common psychological characteristics of a nation (the “national soul”) from etymology of a few words in the spoken language? This article brings forward a few arguments for a positive answer to this question, by considering a few examples where etymology can shape, unintentionally, the attitudes of the native speakers.

1. Can Word Origins Serve as a Guide to Psychology of the Language Carriers?
Len Malinin
GEN3 Partners
Can linguistic associations and word origins affect, at the subconscious level, the psychology of the
language carriers? Is it possible to derive some common psychological characteristics of a nation (the
“national soul”) from etymology of a few words in the spoken language? This article brings forward
a few arguments for a positive answer to this question, by considering a few examples in Russian and
English where etymology can shape, unintentionally, the attitudes of the native speakers.
The author is not aware of a more systematic study of this topic. A study by Anna Wierzbicka
(Wierzbicka, 1997) explores the effect of language on the psychological characteristics from a
different angle, primarily focusing on the words that do not have equivalents in other languages. A
few authors have analyzed proverbs, with the aim to relate frequency of certain words encountered in
the proverbs with the cultural background of a people. In contrast, in what follows we look at the
effects that the word origins can have on the speaker without him/her being aware. This article can
serve as an invitation to develop a more comprehensive methodology for further research in this area.
To quote the same author, “culture specific words are conceptual tools that reflect a society’s past
experience of doing and thinking about things in certain ways; and they help to perpetuate these
ways” (Wierzbicka, 1997)
Keywords: word origins; subconscious influence; psychological characteristics.
1. Introduction (“Smile on your adversary” 1)
One of the most common impressions that an American traveler to Russia shares
upon return is that people there don’t smile. A typical article in The Times, for
instance, is titled “Grin and bear it. To a Russian, Western pleasantries are tedious
and a sign of insincerity, not warmth” (Ingram, 2004). The author continues, “The Russians
1
Counsels of Wisdom 41:45 (Lambert 1996)

2. don’t smile indiscriminately, as they freely admit.” Likewise, Russian entrepreneurs or
scientists doing business in the US are often urged to show their teeth in a conversation to
comply with the local communication norms. (The ensuing face mimics should more often than
not be called a grin or a smirk). The usually stated reason for these cultural differences is that
life in Russia is grim and people have no reason or don’t know how to smile. In fact, the
explanation goes deeper and can serve as an example of how linguistic associations and word
origins affect, at the subconscious level, the psychology of the language carriers.
The word “smile” in Russian (ulybka [улыбка]) has the same root as “forehead” (lob [лоб]).
The meaning of “smile” can be traced to the old meaning of the word “forehead”, “skull” (e.g.,
the Calvary in Russian is “lobnoe mesto” [лобное место], or literally “place of the forehead”,
which of course is the same as Golgotha, “place of the skull”). The verb “to smile” initially
meant “to grin like a skull”, “to expose teeth like a skull”. Not surprisingly, friendly partners
would not use such macabre mimics in a conversational interaction, but rather would follow the
recommendation “smile on your adversary”. At the level of cultural norms, a constant smile on
the face was at least not encouraged and at most considered a sure sign of the village idiot
(“Enough fleer… a wolf fleers”, says a Russian proverb).
The situation is similar with the word “joke”. In English, it descends from the Latin jocus
"sport, pastime", whereas in Russian the initial meaning of “joke” (shutka [шутка]) was
something empty, or hollow (in Bulgarian, “shutka” still means “vulva”).
Even the word “laugh” (smekh [смех]) in Russian, which has the same root as “smile” in
English and is etymologically neutral (does not have negative underlying meaning), has
downbeat connotations in the language. Many proverbs present the act of laughing in negative
context (“Laugh leads to crying”, “One can laugh with a fool, and grief is here”). But “laugh”

3. can at least be found in Russian proverbs, whereas the word “smile” can only be found on a rare
occasion2.
Most of the Russian native speakers are not aware that when they smile, they “grin like a skull”.
However, many still refrain from unprovoked smiling, subconsciously complying with the
cultural imperatives hardwired in the historic memory of the people.
2. Life in the forest holds no hardship3
Is it possible, based on this and other differences between word origins
and use in Russian and English, to come up with a hypothesis how
certain cultural characteristics (or, stereotypes) have formed? While
answering this question goes well beyond the scope of this article, some observations can be
helpful.
One feature that arises from etymology of a few common Russian words is life in the forests of
those who spoke the language. This is not the case with the respective English terms.
We start from the word “health”, which in Russian literally means “a healthy tree” (zdorov’e
[здоровье] is derived from “su-” (good) and “*dorvo” (tree))4. The closest analogy in English is
“robust” (from “robur”, “oak tree”), but “robust” is not used in the same sense as “healthy”.
And, the word “Hello” (zdravstvuy [здравствуй]), which can be used many times during the
day, means “be healthy”, but literally, “be like a healthy tree” 5.
2
One might also look into possible existence of same or similar proverbs in other languages to be able to
draw a correct conclusion if the social phenomenon they reflect is specific to this nation or international.
These proverbs only serve to illustrate the typical attitude towards smiling and laughing.
3
Ramayana, To the Forest (Valmiki, 2006).
4
The prefix su- can also be found in Russian words for death (smert’ [смерть]) and happiness (schast’e
[счастье]), meaning literally “good (from natural causes) death” and “good share, good part”.
5
Again, most Russian speakers are unaware of this.

4. The next word is “road”, which in Russian is derived from the verb “to tear” (doroga, [дорога])
from “drat’” [драть], that is, “to root up, to stamp” – the word conveys the efforts required to lay
a path in the dense forest. In contrast, “road” in English is derived from “ride”, which comes as
something less painful that “tearing”.
(The word “dense” in the above paragraph corresponds to Russian “dremuchiy” [дремучий],
which may be translated as both thick and primeval. There is no direct equivalent in English.
Like Eskimos having more terms for snow, Russian may have more forest-related words than
other languages).
Some Russian forest-related words are used less often, but they are even more picturesque. An
older expression meaning “on his deathbed” (na odre [на одре]) means literally “at the deck, or
at the board, leaned against a tree”. The longer translation again means that there is no direct
equivalent in English.
It is worth noting that many centuries later, in 17-18th centuries, the Old Believers, who
separated from the mainstream Russian Orthodox Church after 1666, returned to burying their
dead in the woods. This custom can be traced to the fact that since the pagan times a burial
ground has been literally called “growth” (roshchenie [рощение]) (Nakhimovsky &
Nakhimovsky, 1985, p. 45).
The important role that the forest and the trees played in the life of ancient Russian communities
is also supported by multiple sources, saying, e.g., that the pagan Russians “had idealized the
tree as a sacred cult” (Stasov, 1872). Here we have arrived to similar conclusions looking only
into word origins.

5. Life in the forests was likely less organized and less controllable than of those other tribes who
lived in larger groups. This can be seen from evolution of meaning of a few words, such as the
Russian word for “snitch” (yabeda [ябедa]). The word came into Old Russian from Old
Scandinavian, where its meaning was neutral (related to service, duty), and acquired distinct
negative connotations in Russian (“the snitch in the afterlife is hanged by the tongue6”, says
another proverb). What was legitimate service for Germans, transformed into snitching for
Russians.
3. We are not slaves7
Another consequence of life in forests was certain technological and political
backwardness, which adversely affected the defense capabilities in conflicts
with the neighbors. On this background, we look at somewhat unexpected
origins of a few more words, starting from “child” (rebenok [ребенок]). This
word (ребенок) literally means slave (it has the same root as the English
“orphan”). While “orphan” developing in the “slave” can be understood, the fact that the same
word acquired universal meaning for a “child” can only be explained in the environment where a
child by default would become a slave unless protected by relatives or a sponsor. An older word
for a “boy” (otrok [отрок]) means literally “having no right to speak” and used to mean a
servant8. A colloquial (appearing much later) word for a “boy” (patsan [пацан]) is derived from
“rat” and also indicates low esteem a child could expect from the society.
The norms typical for a society with prevalent slavery can also be found in a few fixed
expressions in Russian language, such as the wedding formula pronounced by the newly-wed:
“Getting married a servant of God”, and some seemingly innocent old words e.g., “petition”
(chelobitie [челобитие]), which literally means “beating the forehead” (against the floor).
6
The souls hanged by the tongue can be found in Acts of Thomas and other Apocrypha, but these souls
are slanderers, not snitches.
7
Russian alphabet, 1918.
8
Compare with “infant”, which also means "not able to speak", but due to age.

6. These observations suggest early exposure to slavery of the Slavonic tribes. Indeed, in most
European languages, the words slaves and Slavs are very similar. Historically, they were
identical. The word slave first appeared in English around 1290, spelled sclave. The spelling
was based on Old French esclave from Medieval Latin sclavus, “Slav, slave,” first recorded
around 800” (The American Heritage Dictionary, 2006). Slavs became slaves around the
beginning of the ninth century when the Holy Roman Empire tried to stabilize a German-Slav
frontier. At that time, both Vikings and Khazars were actively involved in slave trade
originating in Eastern Europe (“From [Khazaria] come cows, sheep and innumerable
slaves”(Brook, 2009, p.73).
A few other words in English, such as slovenly or slut (a slovenly woman), likely also come
from the same root.
The theme of national slavery has been painfully discussed over and over by authors and
philosophers in Russia and abroad. We limit ourselves here by just three quotes of Russian
classic authors (Nekrasov, Lermontov, Chernyshevsky; Lenin especially loved the last quote):
1) Fate held three heavy parts:
The first was to be married to a slave,
The second was to be the mother of a slave’s son,
The third was to submit to slave to the grave.
All of these terrible lots fell upon
The woman of the Russian land.
2) Farewell, unwashed Russia,
Land of slaves, land of masters.

7. 3) "A poor nation, a pathetic nation! A nation of slaves - from top to bottom, all entirely are the
slaves... ",
and one inevitable citation from Marquis de Custine: “About all Russians, whatever position
they may occupy, we can say that they revel in their slavery” (de Custine, 1839). Abundant
further quotes on this matter can be found in (Figes, 2003).
The opinions and interpretations of the underlying “spiritual capacity for suffering” that should
have explained tolerance to slavery of the Russian peasantry vary from “the truly Christian”
attitude (Dostoevsky, 1873-76, p. 135) to derived from the “cult of suffering” (Rancour-
Laferriere, 1996). In the context of this article, which is focused at word origins, the hypothesis
in the latter source that the periods of slavery, observed many times in the Russian history, are
explained by intrinsic Russian masochism, has to be rejected due to absence of the term for
masochism in Russian language. (Besides, the arguments called to support the existence of
unique Russian masochism are applicable to multiple cultures and often lack specificity). The
peasants themselves would certainly vote for the “truly Christian” version, as can be seen from
their self-designation (in Russian peasants, “krest’yane” [крестьяне] literally means
“Christians”). Where in most European languages the terms for “peasants” are related to
“leaving on the land”, (peasant, paysan, Landwirt), in Russian the word for common people
designates the common faith. (“To say ‘Russian’ was to say ‘Orthodox’” [Figes, 2003, p. 301];
“The common stock of the Russian soul is such that the Christian idea is, we can say, its nature“,
noted poet Vyach. Ivanov [Ivanov, 1979] in 1909). Looking at the word “foreigner” (inoverets
[иноверец], adherent of a different faith), we can see again that for Russians denomination was
the determining factor in self-identification.

8. The historical memory of these years of slavery may have contributed to appearance of the
statement “We are not slaves” (“Мы не рабы”) in the very first edition of the Soviet alphabet
(insertion under the title of this section). Of all possible slogans (abundant in the years after the
revolution), the first message that the new power deemed necessary to convey was to defy this
association of the people with slavery.
These days a similar transformation occurs with another Russian word (a female name), Natasha.
A Russian web site notes that. “… in some countries (Turkey, Greece, Spain, Germany), the
name "Natasha" - the perfect Russian name - is synonymous with whores and prostitutes” 9.
More field data to that effect can be found in the thesis, published in 2004: “…in some countries
such as Turkey, Israel, England and the US, the name Natasha has become a synonym for a
prostitute and is used as a common denigrating label for all women from the Eastern European
region, whether they are sex workers or not. … respondents’ accounts of their daily life in
Bologna show that, whether due to one’s physical appearance or a way of dressing, they too have
been affected by the discourse that conflates women from former Russian states with prostitutes”
(Andrijasevic, 2004). An alphabet exclaiming “We are not sluts” might be in the offing.
4. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth10
The people living in the forest and their descendants were, under normal
circumstances, unaggressive and God fearing, but not really longing for a
structured hierarchical society. One of the most common Russian last
names (the most common, according to the Atlas of Russian Surnames11) is
Smirnov, derived from the word “smirny” (“смирный”; meek; gentle; manageable, literally,
good-measured12). The respective state of mind (smirenie [смирение], humility) is considered a
9
http://www.echo.msk.ru/blog/ym4/720855-echo/
10
Matthew 5:5
11
http://www.molgen.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=135
12
“Smirnov” starts from the same prefix su- , meaning “good”, as was mentioned in Footnote 4.

9. specifically Russian Orthodox feeling and is highly praised in multiple proverbs. The nickname
of the second tsar of the Romanov’s dynasty, Tishaishiy (Alexey Mikhailovich, 1629-1676) can
be translated as “the most serene” (“Serenissimus”), presumably because he expressed the
serenity of mind for which he was highly praised (“the most attractive of Russian monarchs”
[Platonov, 1925]).
Another word showing the attitude of Russian language to meekness is “farewell” (proshchay
[прощай]), which literally means “forgive me, do not think bad about me”. Where an English
speaker wishes well to the other party, a Russian says “remember me kindly”. A colloquial
equivalent of “farewell”, “ne pominayte likhom” [не поминайте лихом], can be translated as
“remember me meek”. It means literally “do not remember me as an unbalanced person”, where
the word “likho” [лихо] means “exceeding measure, extraneous”, which is the exact opposite of
“good-measured” in the sense of “meek” (smirny [смирный]).
It is tempting in this context to note that the word “fool” (durak [дурак]) is related to words that
in other languages (Greek) mean “inrush, impatient” and therefore to see meekness as opposite
to foolishness and equivalent of being smart. The other side of the coin is that the other word
which originally had meaning close to “meek and gentle” is laziness (len’ [лень], the closest root
in English is “let”, like in “let it be”). So in this case the language, in a sense, appreciates
meekness as a virtue and does not encourage excessive activity.
5. All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword13
While the verse in Matthew does not give a timeframe, it takes time for a
society to raise the technological level to rival those who come with the
sword.
13
Matthew 26:52

10. One predictable consequence of having meekness as a merit that can be traced from the language
might have been the need to borrow the leading technologies of the time from the neighboring
cultures. This is reflected in borrowing from the Germanic languages (starting from contacts
with the Goths in III-IV centuries; about 50 Germanic ingredients can be found in pre-Gothis and
Gothic strata in East Slavic languages, [Andersen, 2003]) a few key words for new products,
such as a sword, house, bread, and others. The word for a house (izba [изба]) came from Old
Upper-German, (“*stuba”), where it meant “warm premises, bathhouse”. Bread (khleb [хлеб])
is derived from Gothic “hlaifs”. The word “artist” (khudozhnik [художник]) also came from
German, meaning literally “one having skillful hands”.
While borrowing certain basic terms, such as “ship” (korabl, [корабль]), from other languages
(Greek, in this case) is natural for the forest dwellers, borrowing military terms, such as “sword”
(mech [меч]) from Gothic (mekeis, Old English mece) could lead to a danger.
The borrowing was not limited to the technological terms, but also included political and
administrative vocabulary. The words for political and military leaders came from Swedish or
Khazar languages: “prince” (knyaz’ [князь]) from Proto-German (*kuniggs), “knight” (vityaz’
[витязь]) from “viking”, “tsar” (kagan [каган], from Turkic kagan, which was the title of
Vladimir of Kiev, who baptized Rus’ in the late 980s). The business terms for “money”
(“деньги”), “customs” (“таможня”), “treasury” (“казна”) were borrowed from Mongols.
14
6. And behold, there was great turmoil
The times when the patience of the meek was exhausted and
they were turning to their swords against those who came
with a sword resulted in a few periods of major upheaval in
Russian history. It was likely during these times of turmoil
14
Matthew 8:24

11. that the Russian expression for “Good night” (“Spokoynoy nochi”) was formed, which literally
means “Have a quiet night”. In most other languages people just wish “May you have a good
night”, but apparently in Russian having a quiet night was more important15.
In the time of turmoil, the word formation process in the language kept going, often with more
intensive borrowing from other languages. One area where this process would become
especially intensive during these times was criminal slang. This part of the language changes its
vocabulary much faster than others, with a commotion in the society helping a new wave come
on top of the old layer. Because of this much faster change rate, the known buzz words are
usually not older than 100-200 years (their etymologies are also less reliable). One of the major
purposes of using the slang was to code the messages and by doing so to make the dialog
between the “initiated” possible in the presence of law-abiding compatriots. To that end, argot
could be formed by scrambling native words or borrowing from other languages. It might be
instructive to look at which of the two categories prevails, to see which groups were more active
in the shadows of this or that crumbling empire. Taking Russian criminal slang as an example,
its characteristic feature is prevalence of Hebrew and Yiddish roots. In fact, most words
borrowed from Hebrew in the Russian language can be found in argot (besides a few Bible
terms, such as “Satan” or “Sabbath”). The examples include “money” (lave [ловэ], Hebrew ‫לווה‬
– borrower, ‫ – הלואה‬loan), “document” (ksiva [ксива], Hebrew ‫[ כתיבה‬writing], where ‫ ת‬is
pronounced as ”s” by Ashkenazi), “gang” (khevra [хевра], Hebrew ‫“ ,)חברה‬haunt” (malina
[малина], Hebrew ‫ – מלון‬shelter), ”empty speech” (botva [ботва], Hebrew ‫[ בטא‬to express],
‫[ ביטוי‬expression]), and multiple others16. We leave it for future study to figure out how Hebrew-
speaking gangs or leaders came to the forefront during the times of disturbance. One hypothesis
states that due to a higher concentration of more active element within the Pale of Settlement,
15
Another common expression for “good night” is “at your service”, represented by Venetian and later
Italian “ciao”, which meant “I am your slave” and could be traced to the same “sclavus” (slave).
16
We have omitted a few examples that are based more on impressionistic comparisons than on solid
etymologies.

12. during turmoil times forces similar to the osmotic pressure drove these elements through the
Pale, to equalize pressure on both sides of it).
7. Conclusions.
Compiling together the key words from the preceding sections, we come to a cyclical
representation of the Russian history (Fig. 1). This cycle has been reproduced several times
throughout the written Russian history, starting from the very beginning and up to the very
recent developments (Table 1). A remarkable feature of this cycle has been a complete negation
of the prior period of the history, occurring several times over last thousand years, from
overthrow of the pagan idols in 988 to dismantling of the statues of communist leaders in 1991.
Of course, these notes do not pretend to be comprehensive. It is remarkable, however, how a
few observations of word origins can lead to the same perpetual question stated by V. Grossman
(2009): What is, really, an exclusively Russian law of development?
.
Blessed are
the meek
Great They that take
Turmoil the sword
We are not
slaves
Fig. 1. Cycles in Russian history

13. Table 1. Russian Chronology: Major turning points
Year Sword Great Turmoil Before After
Carriers
988 Vikings, Conversion to Christianity Pagan Christian
Khazars
1230 – Mongols Invasion Sovereign Mongol yoke
1480 Break up of the Golden Horde Mongol Sovereign
1605- Poles, Change of the dynasty Rurik Romanov
1613 Swedes
1654 Poles, Old Believers separate from United Split Church
Swedes the Church Church
1709 Swedes Re-orientation to the West. Third Aspiring
Patriarchate replaced by Holy Rome European
Synod country
1914- Germans Dismantling of the monarchy Monarchy Republic
1918
1946- Americans Dismantling of the socialist Socialist Non-socialist
1989 state state state
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