What does the expression “filkin’s letter” mean? What is the origin of the expression “Filka’s letter”? Ivan 4 called Filkin letters

Filka's letter (contempt) - about an empty, worthless paper, a document that has no force. There are several versions of the origin of phraseological units:
1. Initially, this is a letter written by an illiterate person of the “vile class”, a simpleton. Dupe - from Greek. Philip, Russian Filka, Filka. Bars often called their servants by this name.
2. The expression is formed according to the model of phrases spiritual charter, bill of sale, etc. from the figurative meaning of the name Filka -...

Filka's letter. The meaning of the expression.

Since ancient times in Rus', the name Phil or Filka was used to call people who were not noble, from the people.
In the common sense, it was applied to people who are simple-minded, trusting, and naive. Calling a noble person by this name was considered an insult. The very expression “filka letter” appeared during the reign of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible in the 16th century.

From the history of the origin of the phraseological unit “filkin’s letter”

In those days, Ivan the Terrible was fighting for access to the Baltic Sea. By this, he sought to strengthen the military power of Rus' and facilitate trade relations with neighboring countries. The tsar's plans were complicated by the fact that he had to wage endless wars with the Poles in the west, the Swedes in the north and the Tatars in the south. In addition, the boyars actively opposed Grozny. They were against continuing the war. Outright betrayal and defection of the boyars to the side of the enemy were frequent.

Faced with opposition from the boyars, the tsar left for Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda (current...

What does the expression “Filka’s letter” mean? Previously in Rus', the names Phil, Filka, Filimon were given to non-noble people, that is, to ordinary citizens who did not have golden toilets.
The word “Filka” was also used to describe simple-minded, naive and gullible people. A noble person could be greatly offended by such a nickname.
Historians attribute the emergence of the phraseological unit “Filka’s letter” to the reign of Tsar Ivan 4, popularly nicknamed “The Terrible.” He ruled Russia in the 16th century.

Read also: the meaning of the expression Merleson ballet

Where did the expression “filkin’s letter” come from?

In those distant and harsh years, Ivan the Terrible set out to strengthen the power of Rus' and create access to the Baltic Sea for it. This would simplify trade relations with other countries, which would provide a huge influx of funds into the state treasury.
However, the times were turbulent, on the one hand, the lords and gentlemen attacked Rus', on the other hand, the Swedes, and the Tatars, who were in full force...

Phraseologism "Filka's letter" meaning

This is what we call an empty piece of paper that has no meaning, but a document that has any real value.
In this phraseological unit, the word filka is used in the meaning of “stupid, narrow-minded person” (remember the word simpleton) and is formed from the name Phil, Filimon. Probably, there once lived a certain Philemon, who was distinguished by such illiteracy that his name became a household name.
Thus, Filkina's letter literally means: a stupidly composed, poorly written document.

The expression Filkin's letter goes back to the times of Ivan the Terrible. Metropolitan Philip, in his numerous letters to the Tsar, sought to convince Grozny to abandon his policy of terror and dissolve the oprichnina. Grozny contemptuously called the obstinate Metropolitan Filka, and his letters - Filka letters.

Example: “The Tsar’s manifesto that you are talking about...

There is such a thing as “filkin’s letter”. We are considering the meaning of phraseological units today. Also, as always, we are very interested in the origin of the expression and examples. All this is certainly waiting for us ahead.

Ivan the Terrible and phraseology (origin)

Everyone knows how harsh Ivan the Terrible was. Of all the methods of influencing people, he preferred first of all violence and terror. Oddly enough, the expression “Filka’s letter” is a “hello” to us, modern people, from those times.

There was one person who was not afraid of Ivan the Fourth - Metropolitan Philip of Moscow. Probably, the clergyman, deep down in his soul, understood the futility of his efforts, but still he wrote messages (letters) to the autocrat again and again. Ivan the Fourth contemptuously called them Filka's letters, putting a not very pleasant meaning into the phrase. So it goes. Since then, “Filka’s letter” (the meaning of the phraseological unit follows) is a document that has no, but first of all legal,...

Where did the expression Filka's letter come from?

There are several versions of the origin of this expression. Decide for yourself which of them is correct.

The first is directly related to the interpretation of this name itself. In the Russian language dictionaries of V. Dahl and Ushakov, Filya means simpletonness, stupidity. In Rus', this name was considered simple and most often belonged to people of the “vile class”.

Dude is a nickname derived from this name. This is how illiterate people of low class were called in Rus'.

And the expression was preserved in the language, most likely due to the absurd and funny contrast between the high level of the official document, which was the charter, and the simpleton position of its compiler.

Filka, who did not even have a last name, of course, had no right to have a hand in an important document. This means that this paper is a fake and has no legal force.

The Russian language has preserved proverbs relating to this common noun character:...

Ivan IV, intending to weaken the boyar and princely power and the influence of the clergy, introduced the oprichnina. Faithful servants, under the pretext of protecting the interests of the royal person, committed outrages and terrified the entire population of Rus'. Many influential people, including the Metropolitan of Moscow, were dissatisfied with this course of events. Therefore, when Ivan the Terrible asked the clergyman for a blessing, he refused the autocrat. Moreover, during the next service, where the tsar and his retinue were present, Philip allowed himself to make a remark to the guardsman, who was in the temple wearing a headdress prohibited by the church. Ivan IV considered this a personal insult. After this, persecution began against the metropolitan, who was forced to settle in a monastery. By order of the tsar, a special commission organized the collection of information about Philip’s allegedly “vicious life,” but the information received was not supported by reliable facts.

The indignant metropolitan, appealing to reason, sent letters to Ivan the Terrible demanding...

Filka's letter, or How Ivan the Terrible dealt with Metropolitan Philip?

The future Metropolitan Philip came from a noble family of boyars, the Kolychevs. His father Stepan Ivanovich was the favorite governor of Vasily III; Mother Varvara inherited the rich Novgorod lands and was distinguished by her piety and compassion for the poor. Their son Fedor, born in 1507, received a good education. Grand Duke Vasily took Fyodor into the palace, and young Ivan fell in love with him. The Kolychevs suffered during the reign of Princess Elena for participating in a conspiracy on the side of Prince Andrei Staritsky, Ivan’s uncle. In the 30th year of his life, Fyodor was tonsured with the name Philip in the Solovetsky Monastery. Nine years later, the brethren elected Philip as abbot. He turned out to be an excellent organizer and managed to transform the harsh Solovetsky region. The monastery became one of the richest and most famous in Russia, where thousands of pilgrims flocked. Philip had a stern character, inflexibility, and an independent view of current events. He was supported...

Many words, like people in fact, have their own history, their own destiny. We will remember where such popular expressions as “Filka’s letter”, “Throwing pearls before swine”, “How to drink” and many others came from.

Slap

Nonsense
The seminarians who studied Latin grammar had serious scores to settle with it. Take, for example, the gerund - this venerable member of the grammatical community, which simply does not exist in the Russian language. A gerund is something between a noun and a verb, and the use of this form in Latin requires knowledge of so many...

“Filka’s letter” is a phraseological turn of phrase, which means a document that has no force, in other words - a dummy. There are two popular versions of the origin of this expression.

Filka or Philya in the 17th-18th centuries. was a popular name for a commoner or servant, who, as a rule, was an illiterate person who could neither read nor write. In the 19th century in literary language, a proper name acquires a common noun meaning, filya (simp) was associated with a stupid person, a simpleton and a simpleton (see Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary). What can you take from a person of limited intelligence and, moreover, illiterate?! According to another version, the appearance of this expression is attributed to the reign of Ivan the Terrible. During the period of the oprichnina, the Russian metropolitan was Kolychev Philip, a people's favorite and intercessor, who through letters (letters) called on the tsar to come to his senses and abandon his policy (to spare people). But the king was on his own and simply ignored such requests, considering them...

In Rus' it was considered simple and most often belonged to people of the “vile class”. Modern dictionaries indicate the meaning of the word “filka” as a type of card game and a humorous name for a spy (detective).

But Russian language experts V. Dal and D. Ushakov call Filya the personification of simplemindedness, stupidity, etc. The people of Tver and Pskov actually meant by this word... fig. In addition to the nickname “simp”, derived from this name, this common noun character is captured in proverbs:

Filya was strong - all his friends flocked to him, but trouble came - everyone left the yard.
They put Filya in damn bast shoes.
They were at Fili’s, they drank at Fili’s, and they beat Fili.

The last statement, sad as it may be, has some semantic relation to the history during which the phrase “filkin’s letter” arose. It was not anyone who gave it to the Russian language, but the Tsar of All Rus' Ivan Vasilyevich himself, that is, Ivan the Terrible.

S. M. Solovyov in his “Anthology on the History of Russia” reports:...

11.02.2017

The Russian language boasts a large number of popular words and expressions that have a long history. As a rule, these phrases are very loved by the people, however, the new generation does not always understand the meaning of this or that phraseological unit. In addition, people do not always have the slightest idea of how the expression appeared in the language. Among such winged phrases one can safely include “Filka’s letter.” This article will discuss the origin of the phraseological unit “filkin’s letter” and its meaning.

In order to find out about the origin of the expression “filkina’s letter”, it is necessary to turn to history. Surely, each of us has heard about the harsh Ivan the Terrible. This ruler became famous for the fact that of all the methods of influencing his subjects, he invariably chose violence and terror. It was during the reign of Ivan the Terrible that the well-known “filka’s letter” appeared.

The fact is that Metropolitan Philip of Moscow was not afraid of the tsar. At the same time, realizing the futility...

Filka's certificate

This expression is, so to speak, of royal origin. Its author was Tsar Ivan IV, popularly nicknamed the Terrible for his mass executions and murders. To strengthen his autocratic power, which was impossible without weakening the princes, boyars and clergy, Ivan the Terrible introduced oprichnina, which terrified the entire Russian state.

Metropolitan Philip of Moscow could not come to terms with the revelry of the guardsmen.

In his numerous messages to the tsar - letters - he sought to convince Grozny to abandon his policy of terror and dissolve the oprichnina. Grozny contemptuously called the obstinate Metropolitan Filka, and his letters - Filka letters.

For his bold denunciations of Ivan the Terrible and his guardsmen, Metropolitan Philip was imprisoned in the Tver Monastery, where he was strangled by Malyuta Skuratov.

The expression “filkina’s letter” has taken root among the people. At first they simply talked about documents that had no legal force. And now it also means “ignorant,...

Many words, like people in fact, have their own history, their own destiny. From this article you will learn the origin of such popular expressions as “Filka’s letter”, “Throwing pearls before swine”, “How to drink” and many others.

Slap

This word, as well as the expression “Hey you, hat!”, has nothing to do with hats, soft-bodied intelligentsia and other standard images that arise in our heads. This word came into slang straight from Yiddish and is a distorted form of the German verb “schlafen” - “sleep”. And “hat” means “Sonya, gape”. While you are here, your suitcase is draped.

The seminarians who studied Latin grammar had serious scores to settle with it. Take, for example, the gerund - this venerable member of the grammatical community, which simply does not exist in the Russian language. A gerund is something between a noun and a verb, and the use of this form in Latin requires...

The Russian language is one of the most figurative, precise and expressive languages in the world. It has a large vocabulary, which is constantly changing due to the development of science and technology, culture and art..

“The Russian language is inexhaustibly rich and everything is enriched with amazing speed,” wrote Maxim Gorky.

A special group in the vocabulary of the Russian language consists of stable combinations of words - phraseological images that are taken from the language in finished form. The number of such expressions in the Russian language reaches several tens of thousands. Phraseology, a special branch of linguistic science, studies them. The word “phraseology” comes from two Greek words “phrasis” - expression, “logos” - teaching.

Acquaintance with Russian phraseology allows us to better understand the history and character of the people. Russian phraseology reflected historical events and expressed the people's attitude towards them. In the 17th century, the expression “put in a long box” was born. It is connected with the reign of Alexei...

Misha Firsov (Balashikha)

status: received consultation

In the saying “Filka’s letter”, who is Filka? Where did it come from?

We are all very smart here using a search engine!!!) On March 22, 1568, Ivan the Terrible and his guardsmen arrived in Moscow. First of all, the Emperor went to the Assumption Cathedral for a divine service. At the end of the service, the Tsar approached the Metropolitan...

Vyacheslav Romanov (Zheleznodorozhny)

status: received reply

Where did the expression “Filka’s letter” come from?

Moscow legend connects this expression with the name of Philip Kolychev (1507-1569) - Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus'. He was metropolitan for only three years - from 1566 to 1569, but during a terrible time for Russia, the rampant oprichnina of Ivan...

Natalia Dobreva (Dolgoprudny)

status: received a response

What is “Filkina Certificate”, where does the name come from?

Not like Grozny. This expression came from Metropolitan Philaret after Alexander’s decree2 on the abolition of serfdom in...

What is the meaning and origin of the expression?

The authorship of this expression is associated with the name of Ivan the Terrible. In those days when he launched terror, oprichnina, and executions in the country. With all this, he pursued the goal of weakening the influence of the boyars, who in those days had great power and the church.

Metropolitan Philip of Moscow could not agree with this state of affairs. So the king contemptuously nicknamed him Filka. Since he still could not calm down and bombarded Grozny with letters, in which he tried to convince the tsar to abolish the oprichnina and abandon terror.
Grozny called these letters Filkin.

The Metropolitan paid for the courage of his views and statements. The Tsar imprisoned him in the Tver Monastery. Remember Malyuta Skuratov? So he strangled him there.

There is another version - everything comes from the word “simp”.

Initially, this is a letter written by an illiterate person of the “vile class”, a simpleton. Dupe - from Greek. Philip, Russian Filya...

Ivan the Terrible and phraseology (origin)

School certificates and incentives for participation in student conferences

Those who were very active during the wonderful school years and in subsequent student life know that the leadership of educational institutions at all levels likes to encourage students.

As an example, a person participates in a student conference and talks about various concepts of the development of history and/or civilization. Nothing special, a presentation at a conference is akin to presenting an abstract.

True, the student conference has a different status and, as a rule, more listeners. After, let’s not be afraid of this word, all the reports have died down, the winner and prize-winners of the action are given honorary certificates - this is what the phrase “filkin’s letter” means (the meaning of the phraseological unit was given a little earlier). Because such documents have no real legal force, which is self-evident.

Unfortunately, the problem of “filka literacy” exists not only in the process of learning in institutes and schools. Sometimes the very result of mastering new knowledge, recorded in a document on higher education, is a fiction.

Diploma of higher education as a “filkina diploma”

Once upon a time, quite a long time ago, some not very decent people made a living by selling diplomas of higher education for every taste right in the subway. Despite the fact that such documents do not have any legal force, i.e. They fully fit the definition of “filkin’s letter” (the meaning of the phraseological unit is already absolutely clear to the reader), they performed their function quite successfully. Since when such “letters” were in use, few people double-checked the information.

Needless to say, people who buy a diploma without completing training are taking a big risk? After all, if a person has studied and his education is completely legitimate, then he has nothing to fear. When he only has a diploma in his hands, he will definitely have problems.

By the way, not least of all, the fashion for diplomas originating from the metro passed away because people who received an education in this way began to be fired from their jobs.

True, resourceful businessmen began to produce fake documents on higher education in a slightly different way. Now it is possible, for a certain amount (let’s face it, quite a lot), to arrange for the client to be searched through all databases, and the check will no longer reveal any violations. Naturally, if someone is checked biasedly, it will turn out that in front of them is a person who has in his hands a “filkin’s letter” (the meaning of a phraseological unit is briefly designated as “a document that does not have legal force”), and not real proof of his knowledge.

A moral lesson inside a phraseological unit

Of course, the figure of Philip has already been forgotten by many, but our despotic king remains in the memory of the people. As old lady Shapoklyak sang: “You cannot become famous for good deeds.” And yet, the hero of Ivan the Terrible makes us, modern people, understand: sometimes you need to do something, even if at first glance the activity is meaningless and can have fatal consequences for a person.

Let's not forget this lesson.

As for the subject of our analysis, namely the speech pattern “filkina gramata”, the meaning of the phraseological unit, examples illustrating it, we selected not only close and understandable to everyone, but also topical ones.

Filka's certificate

Filka's certificate
The expression belongs to the Russian Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible (1530-1584), who so, in a pointedly derogatory manner, called the messages of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan of Moscow (1566-1569) Philip II. In them, the disgraced church hierarch exposed the atrocities of Ivan the Terrible and exhorted him to stop the bloodshed. Subsequently, the Metropolitan was imprisoned by order of the Tsar in a monastery and killed there.
Later, this expression began to be used outside its historical context - as a synonym for a false or legally invalid document (disdainful).

Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: “Locked-Press”. Vadim Serov. 2003.

Synonyms:

See what “Filka’s letter” is in other dictionaries:

Piece of paper, scribbling Dictionary of Russian synonyms. filkina literacy noun, number of synonyms: 8 ... Synonym dictionary

Filka's letter is a stable expression in the Russian language, meaning “an ignorant, illiterately drawn up or non-legal document.” Initially, this is what Ivan the Terrible contemptuously called the revealing and... ... Wikipedia

Filkina's diploma- Razg. Disapproved Usually units An empty, meaningless piece of paper; a document of no real value. To be, become, turn out to be... what? Filka's diploma. Stop two factories!.. And you want all this to be done on the basis of this...... ... Educational phraseological dictionary

Filkina's diploma- contempt about empty, worthless paper, a document that has no force. There are several versions of the origin of the phraseological unit: 1. Initially, it was a letter written by an illiterate person of the “vile class”, a simpleton. Dupe - ... Phraseology Guide

1. Unlock Contempt. An empty, meaningless piece of paper that has no document power. FSRYaa, 111; BMS 1998, 135; BTS, 225; Mokienko 1989, 167. 2. Arrest. Internal regulations of ITU. Baldaev 2, 109. 3. Zharg. school Joking. Foreign language.… … Large dictionary of Russian sayings

Filka's certificate- Razg. Express A document that has no force; empty piece of paper. The Tsar’s manifesto, which you are talking about, turned out to be a piece of paper, no offense intended (A. Stepanov. The Zvonarev family) ... Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Literary Language

Filkina's diploma- Filkina’s letter, Filkina’s letter... Russian spelling dictionary

Filkina's diploma- internal regulations in ITU... Thieves' jargon

Filkina's diploma- iron. About a document that has no legal force; about what l. illiterately drawn up official paper... Dictionary of many expressions

Ability to read and write. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Pavlenkov F., 1907. LITERATURE OR GRAMATA Greek. grammata, from graphein, to write. a) Ability to read and write. b) Open sheet, patent, diploma, document, official... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Etymology and explanations of well-known phraseological units associated with the word literacy.

Despite the fact that both phraseological units have a common word “literacy” in their structure, their semantics is somewhat different:

Filkin's letter is a document that has no force;
Chinese writing is something incomprehensible.

Take into account the fact that in Soviet times the word “letter” changed its meaning under the influence of commendable and honorary diplomas, which were widely used as incentives.

Until the 20th century, all written documents, including decrees, acts and letters (official or personal), were called charters.

Filka's letter, Chinese letter: meaning and history of origin, authorship of phraseological units

The expression filkina gramata dates back to the 16th century. Authorship is attributed to Ivan the Terrible.

The tsar called letters (letters) from Metropolitan Philip of Moscow, who spoke out against the oprichnina and oprichniki, by Filka letters.

Chinese literacy has a slightly different story. Such a charter actually existed and was received in the name of the Russian Tsar in the 17th century. the first official diplomatic mission, representatives of Russia in China. Subsequently, the mission was named the Petlin mission.

Chinese writing remained without translation for about 50 years and, accordingly, no one knew what it said.

According to a very widespread opinion among philologists, this expression is, so to speak, of royal origin.

Filka's charter is often called an illiterately drawn up document that has no legal force. And the name Filka itself is synonymous with a stupid, narrow-minded person. It would be interesting to know who Filka is and why his messages have become so notorious.

According to a very widespread opinion among philologists, this expression is, so to speak, of royal origin. The time of its emergence is attributed to the reign of Ivan the Terrible, who, to strengthen his autocratic power, introduced the oprichnina, which terrified the entire Russian state.

Metropolitan Philip of Moscow acted as a bold denouncer of the oprichnina. In his numerous messages to Ivan the Terrible, he sought to convince the Tsar to abandon his policy of terror and dissolve the oprichnina. But Grozny did not listen to admonitions, contemptuously calling the obstinate Metropolitan Filka, and his messages - Filka’s letters.

Subsequently, for his bold denunciations of Ivan the Terrible and his guardsmen, Metropolitan Philip was imprisoned in the Tverskoy Monastery, where he was strangled by Malyuta Skuratov. And the expression “filkina’s letter” has taken root among the people.

However, all this is nothing more than a hypothesis, and an unconvincing one at that. Firstly, Metropolitan Philip has been canonized and it is unlikely that the people would speak so contemptuously of his letters. And secondly, no letters from Metropolitan Philip to the Tsar simply exist, since the Bishop denounced the oprichnina in his oral sermons during services. So this interpretation of our phraseological unit should be recognized as a filkin’s letter and resolutely abandoned.

Another version says that at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. the word filka was a colloquially humorous name for a filler. The French word "filer" means "police agent, detective." Filkas in old Russia were detectives who conducted secret surveillance of persons suspected of any unseemly acts. These filks were required to submit reports to their superiors on the results of surveillance. Many of these reports were poorly written. In addition, the spies, in order to emphasize their zeal and zeal for service, often described their non-existent exploits in them. It was these documents that began to be called filkin letters. True, if earlier this phraseological unit had a humorous connotation, now they speak about filkin letters in a contemptuous tone.

Finally, in the Russian language dictionaries of V. Dahl and Ushakov, Filya means simpletonness, stupidity. In Rus', this name in the 17th-18th centuries was considered simple and most often belonged to people of the “vile class”:

“On February 15, Filka learned to straighten wigs, given 6 guilders” (Kurakin “Diary and travel notes of 1705-1710”);
“At the very porch stood a man of up to ten giants, another ten Antons, who, however, were called not Antons, but Filkas, Fomkas, Vaskas, Fedkas, Yashkas and Dormidoshkas. All of them, however, had one common name “small” (Panaev “Actaeon”)
“I called my servant; I call him Filka. A servant entered with a candle. “What is this,” I say, “brother Filka, what a mess you have!” A dog crawled under my bed” (Turgenev “Dog”).

In the Russian language, proverbs relating to this common noun character have been preserved: “They put Filya in damn bast shoes”, “Filya had them, they drank at Filya, and they beat Filya”, “Filya was in power - all the others rushed to him, but she came trouble - everyone away from the yard.”

The expression “filkina gramata” was actively used in Rus' in the 18th century as a designation for an awkward, clumsy, stupid, improvident person. In the literary satirical magazine “Mail of Spirits,” published by I. A. Krylov from 1789 to 1790, it reads: “...imagine what a blessing it is to have such a husband as a husband, whom you can deceive a hundred times a day.”

At the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries, the concept of “fil” disappeared from dictionaries, but about forty years later it was revived in literature in a slightly different pronunciation: fatyuy, fetyuk, falaley, fofan. “Having crossed the border, a cultured Russian person becomes unusually active. All his life he was known as fatyu, fetyuk, falaley; now he wants to prove at all costs that by nature he is not a fatuy at all, and if he was such in his fatherland, it was either because he was “stuck”, or because it was in accordance with the views of his superiors” (Saltykov -Shchedrin “Abroad”, chapter 2)

Phil's own name was also included in the word simpleton. The word dupe with the meaning “simpleton” was included in the “Dictionary of the Russian Academy” published in 1822. published