Once it happens that a new relative appears in your life. It may be a younger brother or sister. But after the wedding, the family grows at least twice. Now matchmakers, brother-in-law, brother-in-law appear in the list of relatives. Getting confused in the names is easy. Today we will examine in detail the meaning of the word "daughter-in-law", its origin.
Let's remember a little history
Looking back centuries, you can find that it was in those distant days that the foundations of the name of family ties were laid. Compared with other European countries in Russia, the system was quite complex and multi-level. This is primarily due to difficult family ties, which largely depended on the financial issue.
Who is the daughter-in-law, all the relatives of her husband knew, that's what they called her. While the girl separated them, based on the situation in the family. Over time, family members of the wife also received their names in relation to the husband and his relatives.
Blood or other ties that bind people in those days were the basis for the formation of the main unit of society. Families were large enough, relations were built not only linearly, cousins, second cousins and completely alien people, once taken into a narrow circle, were on the list.
Etymology of the word "daughter-in-law"
In order to better understand the semantic load of a word, it is necessary to turn to its origins. Our ancestors put meaning into everything, conveyed their feelings and emotions. Today, a science such as etymology helps us discover the secrets of the world of words. So, almost anyone can tell who the daughter-in-law is, but not everyone knows the story behind these letters. Let us open the veil of secrecy.
A word comes from a simple one - “bride”, which, in turn, carries all the basic meaning.
Previously, it was so instituted that the young wife after the wedding ceremony moved to live in the groom's house. Families were large, but not always rich, so getting a separate home was not included in the immediate plans of the spouses. They lived with her husband's parents, brothers and sisters.
The new member of the family was fraught with a riddle for others, no one knew what to expect from the girl. “Unknown” - that’s what a daughter-in-law is by definition. For a long period, the husband’s family looked closely at a new relative, studied, got used to.
Relations in Russia
Large families meant a clear division of roles. Seniors held a dominant position. They controlled the financial part of life, thereby influencing other areas. Everyone contributed to the development and prosperity of the home.
Especially hard at that time was the young wife. Who is the daughter-in-law and what she is capable of, one could only guess. They treated her with a certain apprehension, checked with hard work. Torn from its family hearth, where everyone was familiar from childhood, where the atmosphere of love and care reigned, the girl found herself in a world completely alien to her, which did not really want to accept her. The charter of each family could be radically different, and I had to learn a lot again, get used to it.
The first days, months, sometimes years, in the new house became very difficult. But, getting to know each family member closer, having proved his devotion to the common cause, it was possible to change the attitude of others.
Turning into a daughter-in-law
If today you ask a friend or friend who the daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law are, then everyone will answer approximately the same: this is the wife of a young man in relation to his mother. But as we already know, each word originally had a special meaning, conveyed a message, a message. So in this case, it would seem, two identical concepts have completely different emotional colors.
Young remained a "daughter-in-law" until a certain point. Nothing brings people closer than the appearance of a common family member - the baby. After the newly-made wife gave birth to her first child, she could be considered a full member of the family. The attitude of older relatives became more lenient towards her. And now she was called “son” (derived from “son”), introducing a touch of love and intimacy. Over time, the pronunciation changed, and one letter dropped out of the name, forming the familiar word "daughter-in-law".
Sister-in-law - who is she
As many stories say, one of the main “enemies” of the daughter-in-law was the sister or sisters of the groom. Young they were sister-in-law. Many literary works describe the unfriendly attitude of sisters to a daughter-in-law. Most likely, this is caused by jealousy. If earlier the brother’s love had to be shared only with mother and father, now a new girl appeared who created a certain distance between the young and the sisters.
Now, understanding who the sister-in-law and daughter-in-law are, one can clearly imagine a picture from the life of these two people in ancient times. The latter practically had no rights in the new family, sometimes she was not even allowed to eat at the common table. The first was still in the circle of loved ones and felt confident, although she knew very well that sooner or later she would expect something like that.
Family tree
Today, it’s not that not everyone, but almost one in a thousand, can boast of the knowledge of their ancestors. Whereas before a big strong family was of great importance in the life of every person.
Below is a list to help you sort out your personal kinship relationships a bit.
Parents of husband and wife:
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Mother-in-law, mother-in-law: father, mother of spouse, husband.
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Mother-in-law, mother-in-law: father, mother of spouse, wife.
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Matchmaker, matchmaker: parents of spouses in relation to each other.
Sisters and brothers:
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The brother-in-law, sister-in-law: brother, sister of spouse, husband.
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Shurin, sister-in-law: brother, sister of wife, wife.
Looking at such a simple scheme, you can understand that not everything is as complicated as it seemed initially. And besides, how often do we use in our everyday life such words as “brother-in-law”, “sister-in-law”, “daughter-in-law”, the meaning of which we do not fully understand if we do not know the story.
A modern view of the family
Nowadays, family members are not as close as before. Now the newlyweds seek to live separately from their parents, seek independence in the personal and financial spheres. Largely because of this, the true meaning of the word "daughter-in-law" or "daughter-in-law" is lost.
On the one hand, this is good, a new cell of society is being formed, with its own charter and rules. The life of all family members remains in the usual way, and the occurrence of problems is minimized. On the other hand, a certain connection between generations is lost, a sense of duty and responsibility becomes blurred. Increasingly, indifference and disrespect for elders is manifested.
However, the use of simple words will not return to life deep moral principles, this can be done only by cultivating love and trusting relationships between generations.
