СЕМАНТИЧНИЙ ОБШИР ЛЕКСЕМ ДОБРО, ДОБРИЙ: СЛОВНИКОВО-ДІАХРОННИЙ АСПЕКТ

Abstract

The authors have offered an overview of different approaches to the study of the considered units: conceptual and system-structural ones within the binary opposition or the unilateral one. It has been clarified that the valuesemantic space of the lexeme dobro in the ancient Ukrainian language is formed around the sense core created by the senses of the lexemes DOBRO, DOBRYI. The authors have established that the semantic structure of the analysed words has undergone certain changes during the historical development of the language: some meanings appear, while others disappear. The nuclear zone of the analysed sense sphere is formed by the meanings of the key lexemes DOBRO and DOBRYI. This view is confirmed by etymologists: as a rule, they place an adjective at the beginning of the etymological nest. In favour of this statement there is the view of language historians which says that historically the derivation went in the direction of ‘DOBRYI’ (in any sense of the word) > ‘DOBRO’. It has been found out that in ancient Ukrainian texts the lexeme DOBRO preserves descriptive and evaluative etymological meanings of the IndoEuropean root *dhabh- and the Slavic root *добрЬ-. It has been determined that for the Middle Ukrainian period the main meaning of the named lexeme displaces the primary utilitarian meaning of this symbolic formation and transfers it to the perinuclear zone, still maintaining the connection with the Indo-European root (its meaning); the 16th – half of the 17th centuries are characterised by the development of generally evaluative meanings of the lexeme DOBRYI. It has been proved that the 17th–19th centuries are characterised by strongly pronounced anthropocentrism in language and culture, dobro is largely correlated with man, as evidenced by both nuclear and perinuclear meanings, many of which resulted from borrowing new words from European languages. In general, dobro in the 20th century is associated with all the positive things in the world, with compassion, sensitivity, honesty, willingness to help people. A good person is good not only to someone, but also to themselves; good is not only an intention or a desire, but also an action, a deed as demonstrated by the semantic structure of the researched words.