Passage is a shopping arcade, a virtuoso game and a kind of gait

"What, however, is the passage!" - this expression is used now rarely, it can often be found in the soul-searching novels describing "the past life". The meaning is clear, which means it is an extreme degree of surprise or surprise. On the other hand, in many cities there are shopping malls with this name, in which if there is something unusual, then only an architectural feature. Entering them in one street, you can go to another. And the word "passage" is used in reviews of literary works. The passage of a horse by a high trot during equestrian competitions is again called the same. A virtuoso performance performed by a musician is again a passage. What a universal word! So what does it mean?

Transitions

The original meaning of the word "passage" comes from the French word "transition". In Russian language this concept also has several meanings, from the most direct to the various portable ones. The place where pedestrians cross the roadway or the change in calendar calculus, the transfer of hours from winter to summer, the overcoming of the Alpine mountains by the army of AV Suvorov, the beginning of decisive offensive actions, the re-equipment of the enterprise with the newest equipment and the change in the range of products produced by it, Rule, is called a transition. But the passage is something completely different. This word has several meanings, some of which are given below.

Trading "Passengers"

In many large and not very cities there is a shopping center "Passage", and even not one. Build similar homes in Russia began in the XIX century, and some of them serve to this day. Classics of style became the famous GUM, formerly called the Upper Trading Rows. By the passages can be attributed and the Guest Yards of many Russian cities, although they were not called.

To attract buyers, sellers create conditions for them to purchase a variety of things, placing shops in a line, usually consisting of two rows, with entrances and exits on different streets. An example is the "Passengers" in St. Petersburg and Odessa, cities that were originally built according to the European principle and adopted many features of foreign capitals. As of 1917 in South Palmyra there were a dozen shopping centers with this name, of which at the present time Odessites and visitors of the city continue to enjoy only one, on Deribasovskaya, the corner of Preobrazhenskaya, erected in 1899. He is very handsome, bright and comfortable.

"Fruit passage" of the Privoz as a building has been preserved, but is not used for its intended purpose. There are now administrative offices and warehouses, only on the one hand stores, and even those that sell mostly household goods.

According to the Odessa "passing ranks", one can also judge about other "Passages" in all cities and towns, from Brest to Vladivostok.

Passengers in art

But the passage is not only a shopping arcade in places that shopkeepers call today a "prohodnyak." In art, a sharp or smooth change of the main theme to a secondary branch (plot, color or melodic) is denoted by the same word. An unexpected passage in the text enlivens it and serves to interest the reader more strongly, to attract his attention. Usually, the tempo and rhythm of speech changes in these places, the passions are heated, the characters are pronounced temperamental monologues, in general, the information saturation of this fragment reaches the heat, which sometimes turns into a culmination.

The same thing happens in music. The tempo increases, the sounds alternate rapidly, the rhythm changes. Not every musician can flawlessly perform the passage, it often requires a virtuoso possession of the technique of playing the instrument.

In painting, so called, though not often, the color transitions of shades, characteristic of landscapes, especially when the artist depicts the sky and the sea.

Horse passage

Most closely reflects the meaning of the word "passage", strangely enough, such an interpretation of it, as the designation of the type of gait. The sight of a running horse, almost floating in the air, fascinates everyone who has seen this spectacle on the run or horse racing.

The peculiarity of the pace is that the hooves move diagonally: the front rear and right front, and immediately vice versa. At the same time, if the passage is fast, but the moments of touching the horse's feet on the ground alternate with a brief "hanging", when the rider seems to fly. The speed of such a run is almost the same as for a car - 55 km / h. True, even a good horse can not develop it for long, only four hundred meters. Passage, or "high trot", is a very beautiful sight, which should be admired.

Other uses of the word "passage"

About a man renowned for the gift of eloquence, and sometimes simply empty-headed talker, it is often said that he "gives out passages", comparing the agility of his language with the virtuosity of the vocalist. Well, the comparison is quite reasonable, for some speakers the speech organ is really well developed.

The failure that occurred during the execution, it would seem, of the right plan, is referred to as a "passage". In this case, this word is a full synonym for the well-known slang "span".

The root of the word "passenger" is all the same French word "passage".