Russian Rainbow - part 2A - WHITE

[solito.livejournal.com]

Let's now review the set expressions with the word БЕЛЫЙ - WHITE


WHITE = OF WHITE COLOR OR BRIGHT OR COLORLESS

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белая рыба - "cartilaginous fish" says the dictionary and makes a very common mistake. "Белая рыба" is a group name for all small fishes in scales (scales=чешуя). The white sturgeon (beluga - белуга), sturgeon (осётр), stellate sturgeon (sevryuga - севрюга), starlet (стерлядь) (that all are cartilaginous and at the same time all have white flesh) are not «белая рыба» - they are «красная рыба». But the mistake is so widespread that many native speakers call sturgeon "белая рыба".

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белый гриб - cep, Penny Bun; Boletus edulis

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беленькая - tender name for vodka; less frequently - simply "белая". Note that there is even a brand name "Беленькая" - see photo.

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белое вино - white vine

К рыбе лучше идёт белое – The white (vine) is right for fish

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белые фигуры (в шахматах) - White (chess)

Белые начинают и выигрывают - White to play and win

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белый свет — this/the world, the (whole) wide world, the wide, wide world, the great wild world

палить в белый свет как в копеечку – shoot without distinction

скитаться по белу свету — to knock about the world

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шито белыми нитками - it is evident and striking

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белая кость (ironically, rarely used) - blue blood

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белое безмолвие - the white silence (the expression became popular after a story by Jack London)

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белый шум - white noise, a mixture of sound waves spreading over a wide frequency range

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белые ночи – white nights
From late May to early July nights are bright in St. Petersburg (Russia), but the real White Nights normally last from June 11 to July 2. The nature of the White Nights can be explained by the geographical location of St. Petersburg. It is the world's most northern city with a population over 1 million. St. Petersburg is located at 59 degrees 57' North (roughly on the same latitude as Oslo, Norway, the southern tip of Greenland and Seward, Alaska). Due to such a high latitude the sun does not go under the horizon deep enough for the sky to get dark. The dusk meets the dawn and it is so bright that in summer they do not turn street lighting on. If the weather is cloudy you might not see any White Night, though on a clear day you can get a feel for a White Night even in mid-July.

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белорыбица - a salmon fish with white flesh (Salmo leucichtys)

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камень бел-горюч – it is an expression in ancient legends, songs, fairy tales (sometimes with an addition «алатырь» or «алабырь») - literally a white inflammable stone – many sources suppose that it is amber.

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белым-бело – very white – usually in the expression «вокруг белым-бело (от снега)» - all is white around (because of snow)

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белые – whites (the forces that were against the Socialist Revolution in 1917) – the expression is in use since the Great French Revolution, when the white uniform was used by Bourbons supporters – (That's not about whiskey - The Bourbons were the French Kings in 1589-1715)

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белый день (archaic) - daylight; more frequently used in the expression "среди бела дня" - in broad daylight

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белый воротничок (usually plural белые воротнички) - white-collar worker

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белые тапочки - from the expression "видеть кого-либо в гробу в белых тапочках" - see someone in the coffin in white slippers, which is used in the sense "What do I need it for? Let it go to hell!" Historically is from an old verse (1920) by N.Antsiferov "Я сегодня во сне вас видел // В белых тапочках и в гробу..."

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белая ворона - rara avis

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белый халат - usually in the expression "люди в белых халатах" - people in white smocks, i.e. doctors

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беляк - 1) "заяц-беляк" - a hare, that in winter changes his fur's color to white; the one that remains gray is called "заяц-русак" 2) a supporter of whites (the anti Revolution forces in 1917)

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белый и пушистый - this expression literally is "white and fluffy" and means "harmless, ingenuous, naive, innocent"; warm and fuzzy; lily-white

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белила - whitewash, whiting

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белый металл - a bureaucratic expression "из белого металла" is used in the official documents (mainly by the police) to describe silver-like metals. Since the police is unable without a special examination oficially confirm that the exempt thing is silver, they write in the protocol "из белого металла", leaving the examination for the future. Example: На трупе обнаружен крест из белого металла - There is a cross of white metal found on the body.

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белое золото - 1) cotton 2) white gold

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белая смерть - (ironically) either sugar or salt, white substances which are dangerous for the health

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белый флаг - white flag, a symbol of surrender or peaceful intent

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белая капуста - much more frequently "белокочанная капуста" - white cabbage; Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata

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WHITE = FREE FROM A DUTY OR AN OBLIGATION

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белый - (usually in combination with импорт, техника, etc.) legally imported goods, equipment etc. Example: Я думал, что тот мобильник, что я купил на толкучке - серый, а он оказался белым. I thought that the cellular phone I bought on the flea market is illegaly imported but it's not.
белая сборка - literally "white" assemblage; a PC that was assembled in Europe or the United States

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белая зарплата - literally "white salary"; salary that is paid officially, its amount is known to the tax authorities and taxed.

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белый стих - blank verse; free verse, vers libre

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белое духовенство - secular clergy.
In the Russian orthodox church the clergy is divided in two groups: white clergy and black clergy. The former is allowed to marry (though only once) and when not involved into the liturgical process can spend their time with the family. The latter is fully dedicated to the service and is celibate. The white clergy cannot reach the top positions in the church hierarchy. The cassock's color outside of the liturgy can be black, dark blue, gray or brown for the white clergy, and only black for the black clergy. During the liturgy the participating clergy wears bright robes (white, green, gold, purple and other colors). Thanks to oryx_and_crake for the clarification regarding the colors.

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белый билет – the dictionary Lingvo says “white chit” though it sounds a bit weird for me. If a man does not fit for the military service for any reason, he gets a military service card that confirms his inability to serve. Probably the expression takes place from the ancient meaning of the word "белый" - free from obligation to pay to the church

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WHITE = CLEAN

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беловой – clean, fair

беловой экземпляр – fair copy

переписать набело - to write out fair

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белый лист - clean sheet

Начать с белого листа – Start from scratch

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белая совесть - rarely used, clear conscience; typically in the expressions like "Моя совесть бела" - My conscience is clear.

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белоручка - softie, person shirking rough or dirty (physical) work

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белая изба / изба по-белому / изба с печью по-белому - (ancient and rarely used) "white" hut, where the stove has a chimney, and the hut's ceiling and walls remain clean.
The same meaning have the expressions белая баня / баня по-белому // топить по-белому

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белая зависть - literally "white envy", an envy that does not produce bad feelings but instead motivates to become better. Я так по-белому завидую, что тебе прибавили зарплату - I am quite happy about your salary increase.

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белошвейка – seamstress, while dressmaker is «портниха»

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белая горячка - delirium tremens

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TOPONIMS AND PERSONAL NAMES

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Белое море - White Sea

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Андрей Белый – Boris Bugaev, Russian poet and writer who wrote under a pseudonym Andrey Bely (1880-1934)

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Белый Бим - Чёрное Ухо - a popular book by Gavriil Troepolski, a tragic story about a hunter's dog

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Белые Столбы - a small town near Moscow; according to a popular opinion there is a widely known madhouse at this town, which is another big mistake. The name comes from Alexander Galich's verse «И отправился я в Белые Столбы на братана да на психов поглядеть!..» where Galich confuses two different places - the town Белые Столбы and the madhouse №5 at the railroad station Столбовая near the town Чехов which is 70 km away from Moscow. In the current language, metaphorically - an asylum, a madhouse

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Белая Русь – historically part of Ancient Rus, included cities Mogilev, Vitebsk, Minsk, currently forms part of Byelorussia

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Белый дом - White House

In Russia we have our own White House on Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment in Moscow, it is the House of Russian government (The President is settled in Kremlin, the prime-minister resides in the White House):

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Белый Город - White Town, historically part of Moscow limited by Kremlin and an imaginary line from (using contemporary toponims) the Bolshoy Ustyinski bridge, along the Boulevard Ring till the Temple of the Christ Savior; big wall and ramparts were constructed in 1587 and existed till 1792; now the name is very rarely used and almost unknown by the young generation.

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Белокаменная - an alias name for (old) Moscow - literally means "of white stone". The ancient Moscow was known by its white stone buildings.

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P.S. All corrections and additions are welcome.

Comments

[yegor.livejournal.com]

Talking to the fishes - your first item - белуга, осетр, стерлядь, севрюга ARE NOT "красная рыба". They are "белая рыба".

[solito.livejournal.com]

They are not!

Dahl says: "Белая рыба или бельчуг, камч. род сельди, рунной, стайной рыбы; вообще же местами называют так всякую мелкую, чешуйчатую рыбу, отличая ее от черной (крупной чешуйчатой) и красной (белуга, осетр, шип, севрюга, стерлядь)."

Unfortunately reckoning "осетр" etc. in "белая рыба" is a very common misunderstanding.

[yegor.livejournal.com]

And again - i've found another mistake about белый билет. Normal military card has red cover. And military card of person wo can not serve has the red cover too. But in last case it is _blank_ inside, it has no records about serving details etc. That's why it is called белый билет - it is blank and empty.

[solito.livejournal.com]

Well, there was a mistake that I will fix - the red one is in fact a normal military card. But the etimology of белый билет that you give is not correct.

[schwomulurn.livejournal.com]

But that can you say about thing called "желтый билет" (yellow card), that is presented to the person that cannot serve in army because of mind lack, or insanity?

[schwomulurn.livejournal.com]

А чем отличаются белки и белки? :) What's the difference between белки and белки?

бЕлки & белкИ :)

[solito.livejournal.com]

бЕлка is squirrel
белОк (plural белкИ) is protein or egg's white

[-alex-dee-.livejournal.com]

хех, вы забыли про белые тапочки =)) знаете, что это значит ??
you forgot about "white тапочки". do you know, what does it mean ??

[solito.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Yes I know - though in theory only :) I will add it!

[esprit-malin.livejournal.com]

I admire the work you've done. It's very useful, as I teach Russian on occasions and your works help me a lot. Thank you very much :)

[solito.livejournal.com]

If I don't find myself in "белые тапочки" - I promise to bring the Russian Rainbow cycle to the end. :)

[apollotiger.livejournal.com]

белый билет sounds like the French carte blanche...

[solito.livejournal.com]

I am not sure about the French expression but the Russian "карт-бланш" means "permission to any action". It is dubious it is somehow concerned with the expression "белый билет".

[superslayer18.livejournal.com]

белый свет — this/the world, the (whole) wide world, the wide, wide world, the great wild world


Doesn't that translate directly to "White light"? How did it come to mean those other things?

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

In old Russian, "свет" not only meant the light, but also "the world." Хоть весь свет обойди - лучше не найдешь (you can walk through the whole world an fing nothing better [than this].) This meaning still lives in two set expressions, Новый свет and Старый свет - respectively, New world and Old world, i.e. America and Europe. BTW there is a great sparkling wine made on Crimean peninsula, Новый свет - is exactly means "New World" because this is the name of Prince Golitsyn's Crimean mansion where that wine was initially produced.

[grosman.livejournal.com]

"Белый стих" is not exactly a vers libre, it is most often a poem without rhymes but with strict meter. I found a "blank verse" translation in my dictionary.

[oryx_and_crake]

one more expression that maybe is worth mentioning - белая зависть

[solito.livejournal.com]

Do you mind to check how I translated it?

[oryx_and_crake]

белый и пушистый - this expression literally is "white and downy"

I'd say "white and fluffy"

[solito.livejournal.com]

I thought about it but I was not sure.

[vladon.livejournal.com]

simply "белая" = vodka (any brand name)
"белый" = heroin

белый also means чистый (clear, clean, pure, blank).
белый лист = blank paper
белый пол = clean floor
белая совесть = clear conscience

"Рубаха черна, да совесть бела" = (literally) "Shirt is black, but conscience is white". Means not to judge for one's appearance.


белое платье = white dress; dress, that's weared when woman is married.

белая земля = (lit.) white land; land, which belongs to [Orthodox] Church.

белый свет = the World

белый день = (lit.) white day; usual day, not a holiday (красный день, red day), not a bad day (чёрный день, black day).

белый лес = (lit.) white forest; means birch-wood.

белая капуста = (lit.) white cabbage; also white cabbage without upper leafs

белый сотовый телефон = (lit.) white cellphone; cellphone, that's meets [Russian] medical requirements and has all documents, that's it was imported legally (compare with серый сотовый телефон, gray cellphone)

белое золото = (lit.) white gold; gold with a touch of silver
белое железо = (lit.) white iron; iron with plated tin
белое серебро = (lit.) white silver; pure silver

белая изба or изба по-белому or изба с печью по-белому = (lit.) white hut; hut, where oven has a chimney (vs. чёрная изба, or изба с печью по-чёрному - oven without a chimney)
also, белая баня or баня по-белому = (lit.) white bath-house (banya); vs. чёрная баня or баня по-чёрному

белый стих = poem without rhymes

белёк = whitecoat; seal's child (pup)

Белое море = White Sea

белок = also, eye white



"Бел снег, да собака ссыт; черна земля, да хлеб родит." - "Snow is white, but dogs piss on it; soil is black, but there is bread growed on it". Means that word "white" means not only good, and "black" - not only bad.

[oryx_and_crake]

"белое платье = white dress; dress, that's weared when woman is married."

1. it's not "weared", it's "worn"
2. When a woman is married, she wears everyday clothes like any other woman. You wanted to say "on her wedding day", I suppose.
3. it's not white dress that is worn on wedding day, it's a wedding dress (which is most often white, that's true, but can be any other colour, there's no law prohibiting to be wed in any other colour than white).

[oryx_and_crake]

::As you can see on the photo the clergy could be black or white and they could be easily distinguished by their clothes' color.

Actually, this is not true. The colour of the robes depends on the day and what holiday is celebrated. As you can see on your picture, the priests that participate in the service wear coloured robes (those can be white, green, gold, purple or other colour depending on occasion), and those who do not participate, stand aside in plain priests' robes that are black. A "white" priest's everyday robe is black. A bishop in Orthodox church belongs to "black" clergy, but during service he will be wearing coloured robes according to the occasion, time of the church calendar and such.

[solito.livejournal.com]

I didn't know that - thank you for making this clear. I will update the entry.

[oryx_and_crake]

Андрей Белый - do you think that this really belongs here? You would not mention Демьян Бедный in an article about poverty, would you?

[solito.livejournal.com]

Why not? Imagine a phrase: "Белый немного отличался от остальных символистов (чем-нибудь)...". It is a challenge for a foreigner to understand what the word "белый" means here. So I would leave him in peace :)

[oryx_and_crake]

::белая зарплата - literally "white salary"; salary that is paid oficially, it's amount

"oFFicially"; and, in this case, "itS" with no apostrophe. Please, PLEASE, never mix "its" and "it's"! It hurts my tender nervous system.

[solito.livejournal.com]

In fact - believe me or not - both are typos. Please take care of your nervous system - we still need you sane and healthy in our community :)))