3 Russian words INVENTED by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

1. Стушеваться – ‘Stushevatsya’ ('to fade into the background’)

Perhaps, the most famous of the 'Dostoevisms'. The writer was very proud that he had “managed to introduce a completely new word into Russian speech”.

The word first appears in the novella 'The Double'. Dostoevsky uses it to characterize the actions of protagonist Mr. Golyadkin, who "любит стушеваться и зарыться в толпе" literally “likes to ‘стушеваться’ (‘stushevatsya’) and bury himself in the crowd”.

In the English translation, the word lost its subtle shades of meaning, resulting in simply ‘efface himself.’

The writer himself explained the meaning as follows: “The word ‘stushevatsya’ means to disappear, to annihilate oneself, to fade, so to speak, into nothing… It’s similar to how a shadow fades on a strip shaded with ink in a drawing, gradually moving from black to lighter and finally to pure white, to nothing.”

Over time, the word came to be used in the sense of 'to become embarrassed' or 'to grow timid'.

2. Лимонничать – ‘Limonnichat’ ('to flirt affectedly’)

In the Russian language, almost any noun can be turned into a verb. This fate also befell fruits – in this case, lemon and orange.

‘Лимонничать’ ('Limonnichat') and ‘апельсинничать’ ('apelsinnichat') essentially mean the same thing (but for some reason, the first word became more firmly embedded in the language). They mean to flirt in a cloyingly sweet, affected manner.

The word appears in the novella 'The Village of Stepanchikovo and Its Inhabitants' and is uttered by the unsympathetic character Bakcheev: 

«Да на что и нашему-то брату знать по-французски, на что? С барышнями в мазурке лимонничать, с чужими женами апельсинничать? Разврат – больше ничего!» 

Here’s the literal translation: “What does our brother need to know French for? To ‘lemon’ (flirt) about with young ladies in a mazurka (dance), to ‘orange’ (flirt) about with other men's wives? Debauchery – nothing more!"

In an official English translation, the word was replaced with 'gallivanting' and 'dancing attendance on other men's wives'.

“What do the likes of us want with French? For gallivanting with young ladies in the mazurka or dancing attendance on other men’s wives? Profligacy, that’s what it is!”

3. Надрыв – ‘Nadryv’ ('inner fracture' / ‘emotional strain’)

This word existed before Dostoevsky, but in a more physiological sense. For example, a ligament tear. However, it firmly entered the spoken Russian language precisely in the innovative meaning that Dostoevsky decided to give it.

Today, one can hear the expression “speaks with nadryv” – meaning at an emotional limit, half-hysterically, with strained intensity.

The word ‘надрыв’ ('nadryv') abounds in the novel 'The Brothers Karamazov', where an entire chapter is practically dedicated to it. Most often, Dostoevsky portrays ‘nadryv’ with a negative connotation and in relation to women. The word also appears in the verb form “причитания <...> надрывают сердце” (“lamentations... tear at the heart”) and, as an adjective, “голосок надрывчатый” (“a strained, tearing voice”).

In the novel 'Demons', there is also mention of a “nervous nadryv” and “a strained, tearing voice” (“nadryvny golos”). “'Nadryv' is difficult to translate into other languages, as it is emotional overstrain, morbidity, exaltation, unnaturalness in the manifestation of any feelings, emotions or in the performance of any action,” as the 'Dictionary of Dostoevsky's Language' explains.

In English translations of Dostoevsky, the word 'lacerations' is sometimes used, meaning ‘a cut’ or ‘a torn wound’.