What is a creature and why is this word considered abusive?

The noun "creature", formed from the verb "to create," originally had a completely innocuous and even exalted meaning. Today, this meaning is preserved only in stable speech turnover. If in the expression "God's creature" no negative is present, then the phrase "despicable creature" already has an expressive coloring and is perceived as an insult. Why did this happen, and what is a creature in the modern sense?

Creation created by God

In the Old Slavonic language, the word "creature" was used to designate any living being, whether human, animal or insect. This treatment lasted quite a long time. Let's take the famous phrase from the novel "Crime and Punishment": "Am I a shivering creature or have I the right?"

It is obvious that when FM Dostoevsky describes Raskolnikov's throwing, he does not endow the hero with animal qualities, but only shows the lowliness of his thoughts. What is a creature in this context? Most likely, here we mean a helpless, soulless, cowardly man.

Already in the biblical parables there is a tendency to use the word "creature" mainly in relation to our smaller brothers. Recall the legend of the Flood: God ordered Noah to assemble into the constructed ark "every creature according to the pair", that is, the different sex representatives of the earthly fauna. Although even now, when people speak of the transience of the existence of the human race, one can hear the expression "we are all God's creatures", and there is nothing offensive about this.

Subtleties of word formation

What is a "creature" in terms of etymology? It would be more logical to assume that the derivative of the verb "to create" is "creation," just as in the following cases:

• Produce - work;
• Create - creation;
• Doing is an act;
• Accomplish - accomplishment.

But in Russian nouns can be formed in various ways. If the suffix "-ni" is used in the above examples, words such as "bell ringer", "cracker", "goalkeeper" are formed by attaching the suffix "-ar-" to the root.

You can pick up other pairs: "burns - burns", "heals - healer", "carries mail - mailman", etc. It turns out that the creature is something created by God. For comparison: utensils - the totality of household items, things made by man.

The veiled oath

Gradually the original sense was erased, and the "creature" began to be used only in relation to beings though alive, but not having a soul. In Russian, this word can be called obsolete, now no one calls animals or birds creatures, but in Ukrainian and today the "animal" sounds like "creature".

Now it is not difficult to guess what a creature is in a negative sense. Pronouncing this word as an abuse is like calling a person a goat, a sheep, cattle and the like impartial expressions. It seems that it is not filth in its pure form, but the trauma of the interlocutor will be easily caused. Therefore, it is better to abstain from such words, be more tolerant and kinder to those who surround us.