Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Russian term or phrase:
бессребреник
English translation:
unmercenary
Added to glossary by
koundelev
Jun 1, 2008 14:07
15 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Russian term
United Kingdom
Professional translator since 1991
Native in: English 
Works in: Russian to English
бессеребник
Russian to English
Art/Literary
Slang
новоявленные миллионеры охотно рассказывают анекдоты о самих себе, полагая в душе, что они на самом деле остаются все теми же парнями-бессеребниками
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Jun 6, 2008 09:20: koundelev Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+4
19 mins
Selected
unmercenary
бессеребРЕник
disinterested; (альтруистичный) unselfish
disinterested; (альтруистичный) unselfish
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Rachel Douglas
: This vote is for "unselfish", which George posted before I did. "Selfless" is the same as "unselfish", but the latter sounds more colloquial, I think, which suits the context.
56 mins
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Thank you! I just followed Dahl both in spelling and meaning...
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| agree |
Vanda Nissen
1 hr
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Thank you!
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| agree |
Andrey Belousov (X)
: You got that right./ ... and the Russian spelling - too.
2 hrs
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Thank you! I just followed Dahl both in spelling and meaning...
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| agree |
svetlana cosquéric
5 hrs
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Thank you!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks to all for your help. I enjoyed reading this discussion."
+2
28 mins
Rachel Douglas
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
Excellent English from Russian originals
Native in: English (Variants: British, Australian, US)
Works in: Russian to English
Related KudoZ points
:
24
unselfish fellows
Just in case...
Most of the contexts on Yandex make it sound as if бессеребник is a variation on, or a mistake for, бессеребренник (бессеребрянник?), as in Saints Kosma and Damian, who took no money for their healing work and other good deeds - did everything pro bono. Or, are others saying that бессеребник is a separate word, meaning penniless? It would be interesting to hear a clarification of the disinctions among all of these.
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Note added at 30 mins (2008-06-01 14:37:11 GMT)
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Oh, sorry! - I hadn't seen George's post, which included "unselfish". But I'll leave this because of the note I wrote, in case it's helpful.
Most of the contexts on Yandex make it sound as if бессеребник is a variation on, or a mistake for, бессеребренник (бессеребрянник?), as in Saints Kosma and Damian, who took no money for their healing work and other good deeds - did everything pro bono. Or, are others saying that бессеребник is a separate word, meaning penniless? It would be interesting to hear a clarification of the disinctions among all of these.
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Note added at 30 mins (2008-06-01 14:37:11 GMT)
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Oh, sorry! - I hadn't seen George's post, which included "unselfish". But I'll leave this because of the note I wrote, in case it's helpful.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Arkadi Burkov
: В данном контексте фраза "новоявленные миллионеры", как мне кажется, косвенно указывает на то, что бессребреник используется скорее в значении penniless guy
3 mins
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OK, thanks.... Still, maybe Simon has more context from surrounding sentences, to make sure.
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| agree |
Yuri Geifman
: it does sound like бессребреник is being used in the sense of "having no silver", but I think that's a clear case of incorrect usage by the writer - I don't know of a slang term like this, was just making a point about incorrect usage
23 mins
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Interesting. So, there is a "slang" term бессеребник meaning "pauper", but it gets mixed up w бессеребренник? Yandex has "Косма + Дамиан" 11 times w бессеребники, 28 w бессеребрянники, 500+ w бессеребренники. I guess the first two are mistakes.
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Vanda Nissen
1 hr
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+1
31 mins
erika rubinstein
Native in Russian
Interp, trans, proof, PR, research, writ
Native in: Russian 
, German
Works in: English to Russian, German to Russian, Russian to German, and 13 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
15
2 hrs
Anton Konashenok
Czech Republic
Czech Republic
Native in Russian
&
English
Czech Republic
Competing on quality, not on price
Native in: Russian , English
Works in: French to English, Czech to English, Danish to English, and 10 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
24
Russian term (edited):
бессребреник
nonpossessor
Originally, the word "бессребреник" appears mostly in Christian texts to denote a certain kind of asceticism (reducing one's possessions to the bare minimum). "Nonpossessor" is porbably the closest equivalent in similar English texts (or "nonpossessive" if you want an adjective).
Outside of the Christian interpretation, one may as well interpret "nonpossessor" as simply a person who possesseth not a thing :-)
Outside of the Christian interpretation, one may as well interpret "nonpossessor" as simply a person who possesseth not a thing :-)
+1
9 mins
penniless guy/lad/bloke
"...that they're actually still the same penniless guys/lads/blokes they used to be..."
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Note added at 13 mins (2008-06-01 14:20:34 GMT)
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Well, Jack beat me to it! If you decide to use this solution, he gets the points!
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Note added at 2 hrs (2008-06-01 17:02:59 GMT)
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to Anton: (space for answerer's response is full)
That's possible. I'm trying to remember what work of Russian literature we were dealing with where the term popped up... that was over 20 years ago....
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Note added at 13 mins (2008-06-01 14:20:34 GMT)
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Well, Jack beat me to it! If you decide to use this solution, he gets the points!
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Note added at 2 hrs (2008-06-01 17:02:59 GMT)
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to Anton: (space for answerer's response is full)
That's possible. I'm trying to remember what work of Russian literature we were dealing with where the term popped up... that was over 20 years ago....
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Anton Konashenok
: no, that's different, see my note to Jack // well, maybe your teacher meant "penniless by choice" (ascetic, that is) rather than one in dire straits?
1 hr
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Jack's withdrawn his suggestion, so I can't. So my (native speaker) school Russian teacher was wrong? I distinctly remember getting "poor" or "penniless" or "pauper" as the translation for the term. Couldn't find it in a dic. now, so this was from memory.
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| agree |
Andrey Belousov (X)
: I share your view - True, but NOT in this context/ The mighty - Russian!
7 hrs
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Well, at least I'm not totally off track in general. That's a relief - thanks! Oh yes, the many traps and pitfalls of this truly wonderful language...
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| neutral |
koundelev
: Even native speakers can err. Look it up at the Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language by Vladimir Dahl
11 hrs
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Ah, thanks, that's a source I hadn't thought of. I'll take a look.
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| agree |
Arkadi Burkov
: В этом контексте очевидно, что автор хотел сказать именно "без гроша за душой" (penniless). Кроме того, я бы поостерегся использовать словарь Даля, когда речь о современном употреблении русского языка современными авторами.
14 hrs
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Spasibo! Mozhet byt', tak zhe kak u menya i u moego prepodavatelya, u avtora nepravil'noe predstavlenie o znachenii slova. O Dale: Mozhet byt', esli by avtor snachala posmotrel v slovar' Dalya, my vse mogli by zhit' bez takoy diskussii... khotya interesno
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+1
1 day 4 hrs
Tevah_Trans
Native in Russian
&
English
Works in field
MS Industrial Engineering; MBA
Native in: English , Russian
Works in: Russian to English, English to Russian
Related KudoZ points
:
7
...still thinking themselves to be same old broke and goodhearted fellas.
slightly long, but maybe it conveys the meaning?
by the way, doesn't the Russian word have two Нs? "бессребреННик"?
by the way, doesn't the Russian word have two Нs? "бессребреННик"?
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Anton Konashenok
: Lovely! And no, the Russian word only has one H.
5 hrs
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Thanks Anton! Funny, I always thought it had 2 Нs. Наверное мой русский устарел так же, как и словарь Даля :)
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Discussion
бессребренник бессребренник, бессребренника, муж. (книж.). Бескорыстный человек; пренебрегающий денежной выгодой.
бессребреник 1) (человек, равнодушный к деньгам и временным земным благам) unmercenary 2) (святые, особо прославившиеся бескорыстием, отказом от богатства ради своей веры; таких святых тринадцать, в основном, они медики; в православной традиции под бессребрениками подразумеваются прежде всего Косма и Дамиан, свв. мчч., бессребреники , родные братья, пострадавшие как мученики во 2-ой пол. 3 в.) unmercenary, anargyros
The Comprehensive Dictionary of the Contemporary Russian Language. © 2006, T.F. Yefremova. 180,000 entries. In Lingvo.
бессребреник 1. Тот, кто не имеет денежных средств (обычно с оттенком шутливости) . 2. перен. Бескорыстный человек.
Большой толковый словарь русского языка. / Сост. и гл. ред. С. А. Кузнецов. 1-е изд-е: СПб.: Норинт, 1998. In Lingvo.
БЕССРЕБРЕНИК БЕССРЕБРЕНИК -а, 1. В христианстве: святой, прославившийся своим бескорыстием, отказом от богатства ради веры. 2. Бескорыстный человек. ◄ Бессребреница, -ы; ж. Разг.