притча во языцех

Russian edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic притъча въ ѩзꙑцѣхъ (pritŭča vŭ języcěxŭ) "a fable/parable in/among the people", following its semantics and grammar. It's used several times in the Old Testament.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): [ˈprʲit͡ɕːə və‿(j)ɪˈzɨt͡sɨx]
  • (file)

Noun edit

при́тча во язы́цех (prítča vo jazýcexf inan (genitive при́тчи во язы́цех, nominative plural при́тчи во язы́цех, genitive plural при́тч во язы́цех)

  1. (idiomatic) talk of the town (a topic or person discussed by many people)

Usage notes edit

  • The term язы́к (jazýk) is used in the archaic sense "people".
  • The collocation "во язы́цех" is only used in this set expression and is considered grammatically incorrect, otherwise, cf. modern Russian "в языка́х" (in languages; in tongues).

Declension edit

See also edit