ON THE SEMANTICS OF THE EXPRESSION “DOES NOT TAKE REVENGE”

Abstract

The article deals with the etymology of the set expression ös’se ug berikti “does not take revenge” which is out of use of the active vocabulary of Udmurt, but has been preserved in folklore texts and in dictionaries. It is connected with the idea of revenge. This moral concept is borrowed from Turkic languages, probably during the period when southern Udmurts were the subjects of the Bulgarian state with Islam as an official state religion. Later this expression was influenced by Christian morality which disapproved revenge in all manifestations.