Ukranians, Banyas, and Onion Domesq

[icedink.livejournal.com]

Well, this question is about Russian and Ukranian language, so bear with me.

I was discussing my love of banyas with a fellow American, and he asked, "Isn't that what they call the onion domes, too?"

No, I said. He was surely mistaken. But google did pull up sites referencing them as church domes -- but only for Ukranian churches.

What is the Russian name for the domes on the churches?

Is the Ukranian word for the domes, spelled the same as the Russian баня ?
Does the Ukranian word ALSO mean the wooden cabin full of hot steam and naked people?
If not, what is that called?

Thank you all for your help; I'm finding this question really intriguing.

Comments

[oryx_and_crake]

That's extremely weird. In Russian, the onion thing on top of the church is called купол or маковка. I don't know any Ukrainian to speak of but somehow I don't think that they will be called anything close to баня. I hope that someone Ukrainian-speaking will clarify this, because now I am intrigued, too.

[shimshoni.livejournal.com]

I read once someone who mistakenly (or joke-like) used the word "луковка" (baby onion) instead of "маковка" - may be that's where from this question came?
and may be there is some confusion "башня" (tower) - "баня" too?

[oryx_and_crake]

You know, I just had a look at Ukrainian wikipedia, and that's what I found:
Увінчувала собор ступінчаста композиція з тринадцяти бань, покритих свинцевими листами.
Asked my friend about this, he said he never heard this word used in this context. Could be an obsolete word usage.

[ars-longa.livejournal.com]

It's not obsolete. Just mostly Western Ukrainian.

[ars-longa.livejournal.com]

If you're so interested, look up the word "баняк". :)

Баня can also mean 'head', like in "а в баню (дать)?"

[icedink.livejournal.com]

Баня can also mean 'head', like in "а в баню (дать)?"

Can you please clarify the meaning in this example?

[ars-longa.livejournal.com]

Um, I'm not sure what exactly you don't understand here, but I'll try.

It's a common phrase, to say "А в голову (дать)?", which can be translated roughly as 'do you want me to give you a kick in the head?' In Ukraine, sometimes you can hear the word баня or баняк being substituted for the word голова precisely because they mean the same thing.

[icedink.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I was not familiar with that phrase.

[ars-longa.livejournal.com]

It's quite popular, however, it's mostly used as a mock threat.

[oryx_and_crake]

P.S. And the Ukrainian word for bath house is лазня http://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%BD%D1%8F

[kontin.livejournal.com]

There is common term луковичная главка for onion-shaped church domes, narrow at base and wider higher (such as St.Basil's Cathedral on Red Sqare in Moscow). Maybe луковка was abbreviation for this (of excursionists' slang, for instance).

[kunaifusu.livejournal.com]

http://www.megabook.ru/ojigov/encyclop.asp?TopicNumber=14908

[oryx_and_crake]

P.S. Just talked to a friend of mine, a native Ukrainian speaker, he says it is nonsense. Hopefully he'll come here in person and confirm that.

[yms.livejournal.com]

try to google церковна баня ;)

[oryx_and_crake]

Done, see above

[yms.livejournal.com]

Wow, I didn't know it until your post, but indeed, церковна баня is a church dome in Ukrainian!
This word also may mean bath like in Russian, but more common Ukrainian word for banya is laznya (лазня) (http://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Баня).

[baby-rhino.livejournal.com]

This is irrelevant to the initial post, but I'm intrigued to see yet another case of proximity between Ukrainian and Polish: the polish word for "bath" is lazienka :)
Sorry, just wanted to share.

[pashator.livejournal.com]

Can only confirm that I really never heard this word in this meaning before but Ukrainian language is a bit different now with a lot of new (which are actually old) words and that could be a new (old) meaning.

Word just means "dome" (not only for Ukrainain churches).

* I would ask my Ukrainian friends tomorrow if they know this meaning.

[2007april.livejournal.com]

Ukrainian: Маковиця — купол, баня церковної будови (poppy-head - cupola (dome) of church)
from here: http://litopys.narod.ru/ostrog/ostr06.htm
We also call it макiвка, купол on Ukrainian. On Russian we call it both маковка, луковка, купол.