What does the word ‘mayachit’ mean?
“Где-то в начале лета маячит отпуск” (“Gde-to v nachale leta mayachit otpusk” or “Somewhere at the beginning of summer a holiday is lighthousing”) utters an interlocutor, sharing his plans dreamily.
Another confides in him how happy he was when a familiar village loomed on the horizon during a trip.
No, they’re not crazy and it’s unlikely that they are seeing lighthouses everywhere! Initially, the word ‘mayak’ (meaning ‘milestone’ or ‘sign’) comes from the verb ‘mayat’ – that is, “to give a sign”. And ‘mayachit’ means “something that flickers or moves before the eyes”. It’s also used to describe something that’s not clearly visible and is located at a distance from the viewer.
For example, in ‘The Life of Matvey Kozhemyakin’, Maxim Gorky describes the landscape the following way: “Gnarled birches, already splashed with yellow leaves, clearly loomed in the transparent air of a fall morning, reminiscent of melted candles in a church.”
This word is also used in a figurative sense. When someone wants to talk about plans or draw attention to someone's annoyingness or to something that is constantly catching their eye.
