Duma – cnota czy grzech? O leksemach гордость i гордыня w słownikach języka rosyjskiego

Abstract

This paper focuses on a descriptive diachronic analysis of гордость and гордыня lexemes in Russian historical and modern lexicographical resources. In the Russian Orthodox tradition praid (гордость/гордыня) meant sin. In the XX century the word гордость was displaced from the semantical pool of “wrong” to area of “right”. Synonyms гордость and гордыня underwent a semantical polarization. The historical development of these words reveal a gradual process of penetration and adaptation Christian terms in the secular culture and changes in spirituality or mentality of the Russian society.