толк

Forms

толк (tolk) m inan (genitive то́лка, nominative plural то́лки, genitive plural то́лков)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old East Slavic тълкъ (tŭlkŭ, “interpretation; interpreter”), from Proto-Slavic *tъlkъ.^[2][1][3] Old Church Slavonic тлъкъ (tlŭkŭ, “interpreter”) translates Ancient Greek ἑρμηνεύς (hermēneús) in the Codex Suprasliensis, and Church Slavonic has the verb тлъковати (tlŭkovati).^[2][4] Beside Ukrainian толк (tolk) and Bulgarian тълку́вам (tălkúvam, “to interpret”) there is little in the other Slavic languages.^[2][5] The modern form arose when the jers were lost: ⟨тълкъ⟩ became ⟨толк⟩.^[6]

Vasmer gives the view that the Slavic noun is related to Old Irish ad·tluchedar (“to thank”) and Old Irish do·tluchethar (“to ask”), to Latin loquor (“to speak”), and further to Sanskrit तर्क (tarka, “conjecture”), but notes the doubts of Ernout–Meillet, Walde–Hofmann and Muller.^[2] Shaposhnikov and Wiktionary derive it from Proto-Indo-European *telkʷ- (“to set out, to speak”).^[3][4][1] Vasmer rejects Shakhmatov's idea of a Celtic loan.^[2]

толковать, толковый and бестолковый are formed from it.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old Russian тълкъ meant both an interpreter and an interpretation, with the verb тълковати “to explain”.^[5][3] A 13th-century Izbornik has А се другыи тълкь Иполитов “And this is another interpretation, by Hippolytus”, and the Ryazan Kormchaya of 1284 writes нѣсть толку, of two chapters that need no commentary.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The interpreter's sense was common to the 15th century: the Gennady Bible of 1499 says of Joseph's brothers that толка бо не бяше межи ими “for there was no interpreter between them”.^[7] From “interpretation” the word went on to “reasoning” and “sense, meaning”: an envoy of 1640 writes that тому толку не пророзумели, the Russians could not make out what was being sung.^[7] Shaposhnikov dates толк in dictionaries from 1762.^[3]

The modern colloquial senses “sense, good judgement” and “use, profit” and the plural толки “talk, rumours” developed from these.^[8][5] Among the Old Believers and sectarians a толк is a doctrine and the group that holds it.^[9] Northern and Siberian dialects keep толк for the mind or good sense itself.^[10]

Vasmer gives the Russian word as the source of Lithuanian tulkas (“interpreter”), Latvian tulks, Middle Low German tolk, Old Norse tulkr and Dutch tolk.^[2]

Timeline

• 13th century – тълкь “interpretation” in an Izbornik.^[7]
• 1284 – толку “commentary” in the Ryazan Kormchaya.^[7]
• 14th century – толка “interpreter” in a Novgorod charter.^[7]
• 1499 – толка “interpreter” in the Gennady Bible.^[7]
• 1640 – толку “sense, meaning” in an envoy's report.^[7]
• 1762 – first dictionary record of толк.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (colloquial) sense, reasonable content: to do something с толком is to do it sensibly.^[9][1]
2. (colloquial) Use, profit: что толку? “what's the use?”;^[9] знать толк в чём-либо is to be a good judge of something.^[9]
3. (usually plural) Talk, rumours, gossip.^[11][8]
4. In the Old Believer and sectarian movements: a religious trend, and the sect that follows it; of people generally, a school of thought, as in врач старого толка “a doctor of the old school”.^[9]
5. (dated) Interpretation, explanation; an opinion or judgement.^[12]

Word family

• бестолковый
• толкование
• толкователь
• толковать
• толково
• толковый

Related words

• Old East Slavic тълкъ (tŭlkŭ)
• Old Church Slavonic тлъкъ (tlŭkŭ)

Usage notes

Set phrases include без толку “to no purpose”, взять в толк “to grasp” and сбить с толку “to confuse”.^[9] The colloquial толк “push!”, used as a predicate (толк ногой соседа), belongs to толкать, not to this word.^[9][13]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 4, 71
3. ^ a b c d e Shaposhnikov, A. K. (2010), Ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Flinta / Nauka, p. 2, 419
4. ^ a b Kurz, Josef; Hauptová, Zoe (eds.) (1958–1997), Slovník jazyka staroslověnského / Lexicon linguae palaeoslovenicae, 4 vols. + supplements, Praha: Academia; digital ed. gorazd.org
5. ^ a b c d Chernykh, P. Ya. (1993), Istoriko-ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Историко-этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Russkij jazyk, p. 2, s.v. толк
6. ^ Shansky, N. M.; Bobrova, T. A. (2004), Škol'nyj ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka [Школьный этимологический словарь русского языка], 7th ed., Moskva: Drofa, p. s.v. толк
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Barkhudarov, S. G. et al. (eds.) (1975–), Slovar' russkogo jazyka XI–XVII vv. [Словарь русского языка XI–XVII вв.], vols. 1–31, Moskva: Nauka / Azbukovnik / Lexrus, p. 29, 401
8. ^ a b Ushakov, D. N. (ed.) (1935–1940), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4 vols., Moskva: Sovetskaja ènciklopedija / OGIZ, p. s.v. толк
9. ^ a b c d e f g Ozhegov, S. I.; Shvedova, N. Yu. (1997), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4th ed., Moskva: Azbukovnik, p. s.v. толк
10. ^ Filin, F. P.; Sorokoletov, F. P.; Myznikov, S. A. (eds.) (1965–), Slovar' russkix narodnyx govorov [Словарь русских народных говоров], vols. 1–51, Moskva / Leningrad / Sankt-Peterburg: Nauka, p. 44, 184
11. ^ Kuznetsov, S. A. (ed.) (1998), Bol'šoj tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Большой толковый словарь русского языка], Sankt-Peterburg: Norint, p. s.v. толк
12. ^ Evgen'eva, A. P. (ed.) (1981–1984), Slovar' russkogo jazyka v četyrex tomax [Словарь русского языка в 4 тт.] (MAS), 2nd ed., Moskva: Russkij jazyk, p. s.v. толк
13. ^ Efremova, T. F. (2000), Novyj slovar' russkogo jazyka. Tolkovo-slovoobrazovatel'nyj [Новый словарь русского языка. Толково-словообразовательный], 2 vols., Moskva: Russkij jazyk, p. s.v. толк