SEMANTICS OF THE RUSSIAN ADJECTIVE GREY IN RUSSIAN DIALECTS

The paper presents a study of the semantic structure of the all-Russian adjective sivy on the basis of extensive material from Russian dialects. The analyzed lexeme is related to the Indo-European root *kʼei-, which is also the basis for the adjectives gray and grayhaired. In Old Russian monuments from the 11th to the 16th centuries, the adjective sivy had a very narrow and specific meaning: it was used exclusively to describe the color of horses (“dark gray with gray hair”). The semantic structure of the adjective sivy in dialects is a complex, multi-level system: the lexeme can denote various shades of light gray in relation to a wide range of objects, animal coats, and human hair colors (from gray to light), and can also characterize dull, faded surfaces. In dialects, sivy expands its scope of use, becoming a universal color term with a general meaning of gray, which coincides
with the use of this word in several other Slavic languages.