The word "impresses": what does this mean and how do we use it?

Many words of foreign origin have firmly become part of our everyday life. We flaunt them often to the right and to the left, not always reflecting on the strict sense of their use, as well as the corresponding meaning. Therefore, it is desirable to know the history of origin, as well as the context of each such word, so as not to get trapped, especially in public or in public speaking. Take, for example, the word "impresses." What does it mean? Let's try to figure it out.

The dictionary meaning of the term

If we talk about the semantics of this word, then the explanatory folio, which contains the meaning of most of the expressions used in the Russian language, first of all tell us that it is a positive impression that any subjects or situations produce. What does it mean to "impress"? Like, attract, inspire respect or disposition, evoke pleasant feelings and associations, as well as sympathy. Therefore, antonym to this word can be considered such words as "arouse disgust" or "repel".

Origin

"Impresses" ... What is this word and where did it come from in Russian? There are many points of view on this topic. For example, some scientists believe that the progenitor of this term can be found in the primordial European dialects under the guise of "pos-in-ere". As for the ancient languages, this word exists in Latin, and it sounds like an imponere. It can be translated as "invest", and also "impose" and "inspire". And to us it got through the German language, where its meaning was very close to what we know now. There it looks like imponieren. Perhaps some influence on the modern meaning of the word in Russian had his French colleague. There "to impress" the meaning has a special meaning: to amaze, suppress with its greatness, even to dominate morally.

Clear context of use

Despite the fact that this word has many synonyms, it should be used for its intended purpose and only in certain cases suitable for this purpose. When exactly do we say the word "impresses"? What are these situations? First of all, we need to look at the context and the grammatical-syntactic load. For example, despite the similarity of meanings, one can not mutually replace the word "impresses" with "sympathizes". First of all, because if someone likes you, then the last word is suitable for characterizing such a situation. That is, "he sympathizes with me." If someone attracts you, then you should already say: "He likes me". It can be said that the main thing in this case is who exactly to whom feels positive feelings. Thus, there is an inversion - "to impress" the value has, as it were, "to sympathize with the opposite." This does not change the meaning in general, but it correctly places the accents.

Difference of meanings

Since this word has a Latin-French-German origin, it is more capacious than its Russian synonyms. "Impresses" - what does this mean? If we compare it, as above, with the word "sympathetic", then it has a wider range of values. We can say that the "volume" of the described feelings has more to impersonate. It is not only to attract and to like, but also to cause respect, trust, inspire authority and respect. That is, this word assumes not only external, but also internal positive characteristics of the subject to which you are located. Therefore, so you can say about some phenomenon. For example: "This theory impresses me with its depth, logic and persuasiveness." Or a similar statement is acceptable about a political party and even a religious denomination. For the same reason, it is possible to speak not only about a certain person, but also about his individual qualities - his mind, character traits and other things.

Difference between spheres of use

Lovers of Russian literature are still arguing about where exactly the word "to impress" is more appropriate. Some believe that the most organic use of it in the official speech, with a business style of communication, in journalism, journalism, in scientific discourse and so on. Like, in colloquial speech, this term looks somewhat pretentious and even cuts the rumor. On the other hand, such pedants are objected to - if people are intelligent, then their conversation is not just about common words and expressions. Therefore, the more intelligent the conversation, the more the term "impresses" will not get out of the general context. By the way, in modern language the meaning is more accepted, having German origin, whereas in the classical Russian literature of the nineteenth century the meaning came from the French language. In our turbulent world, it is already obsolete and practically not applied. Therefore, such writers as Leo Tolstoy could use this word in the sense of "morally suppressing", contrasting its meaning with the verb "like". Now it seems not quite clear.