What is Hochma: the origin and meaning of the word

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The daily life of an ordinary person is full of worries and problems. To dilute the hustle and bustle of weekdays, people try to make each other laugh and, at least for a while, forget about their own moral burden. This is what jokes are for. Most often, they explain what Hochma really is. Comic words can be kind, but they can become very angry and cruel. It all depends on what goal the person is pursuing.

What is the word "Hochma"

According to the explanatory dictionary, Hochma is a joke or a prank on someone. In everyday life, jokes are understood as jokes that have a hidden meaning. With it, they try to pin up or play another person.

Synonyms (similar in meaning to words): witticism, prank, mockery, taunt, and so on.

The origin of the word "Hochma"

For the first time the concept of Hochma appeared in the Russian language thanks to Paustovsky's work "The Time of Great Expectations". Utyosov contributed to the popularity of this word, and by the beginning of the 30s of the XX century it had reached the peak of its demand. In the explanatory dictionary, eccentricities and unexpected deeds appear under it.

Hebrew refers to this word differently. If Hochma is translated from Yiddish, one of the Jewish dialects, then it will mean "wisdom." This people, even in their humor, shows a personal history and life experience. When a person listens to Jewish jokes, he can catch subtle notes of self-irony and a desire to fight life's troubles. For a Russian person, this may seem like harsh sarcasm, but for a Jew, it gives strength and good spirits. Some researchers believe that it was from Yiddish that such an ambiguous concept came into the world, having changed when entering other languages.

The meaning of Hochma in everyday life

Thanks to jokes, people have learned to tease and make each other laugh. Most often, this word goes hand in hand with sarcasm, that is, evil and black humor. Not all people understand the boundaries between these concepts, and many even consider them to be one and the same action.

In fact, Hochma initially had a completely different meaning, which was a little lost in the daily bustle of human life. This is life wisdom, designed to persuade a person not to make other people's mistakes. He must learn not only from his own experience, but also from previous lives of past generations. After all, how can a person become better? Only after realizing that he himself still does not know anything about the world around him, including what Hochma is - such a familiar and harmless at first glance word.