What is the coachman? The meaning of the word and examples of use

Do you know what a coachman is? This is an old word, the meaning of which and examples of use in the literature are given in the article.

The meaning and origin of the word

The word "coachman" has turistic roots. The Old Russian sounded like a "yamshchik". The word is formed from the root of the "yam" - so in ancient times postal stations were called in Russia, on which tired horses were replaced on fresh ones. What is the coachman? This is a worker, whose duties included the maintenance of the station, horses, transportation of mail and passengers.

The word coachman has many synonyms. For example: a postman, a driver, a driver, a burp, a cabman, a coachman on postal horses and so on.

A little about the life of coachmen

As usual, the boxes were simple peasants who were engaged in horse-drawn carriage of goods between postal stations and were on public service, and also transported officials, state parcels and urgent news. They also engaged in the cart of ordinary people.

What is the coachman? This is an ordinary driver. The coachmen lived in villages with settlements in 16-30 houses near the postal tracts with their families in the so-called Yama huts, had land shares and meadows allocated by the state. Their duty was to keep the horses, so that at the first request, you could immediately move out. For their work, they received a salary from the state. However, later the king decided not to pay them a salary, as he believed that they were already living well, harvesting their own plowland. After that, the drivers of all the provinces began to disperse.

There was a tax, the so-called "Yamskaya Duty" for the villagers and townspeople. The coachmen got rid of the tax.

Importance for Power

What is a coachman for a country in the 16th and 17th centuries? Then these chariots were of great importance for Russia: the boyars were brought from one province to another for state business, the common people to trade places, and also transported a multitude of goods. With the help of coachmen, the connection between Moscow and the periphery of the country was ensured. The drivers were very important for the Rus' economy, up to the widespread development of rail transport.

Examples of use in the literature

The image of coachman also influenced the culture and literature of Russia, as it was described in many literary works, poems and songs:

• "Well, gentleman," shouted the coachman, "trouble: a snowstorm!". (A. Pushkin, "The Captain's Daughter").
• уть далек лежит, в той степи глухой замерзал ямщик". "The steppe and the steppe are round, the distance is far away, in that steppe the coachman froze in the steppe ." (Russian folk song).
• " Putting the yellow sun to freeze the coachman ...". (V.Vysotsky).

Now you know the meaning of the word "coachman".