Ethno-confessional component in the 19th century Russian language vocabulary: toward the question of semantization

Ethnic stratification as well as the inevitable contacts between ethnic groups, which presume an aspiration to taking possession of material and spiritual resources, invariably lead to the emergence of interethnic problems. They are considered one of the most acute and therefore are reflected in the language of any nation. A huge number of words, derived from the names of nations and nationalities (ethnonyms) were actively functioning in the 19^th century Russian language. The main part of the verbs and their derivatives which form the group is the lexical novations of the 19^th century. This fact testifies to the extraordinary activity of national linguistic consciousness. The ethnonymous verbs used in the Russian language of previous periods in order to characterize the relationship between ethnic groups mainly indicate such an ethnically specific element as a religious one. The article presents a description of the various groups of the 19^th century ethnonymous vocabulary in their relation to this particular phenomenon. The study of this question should contribute to a more accurate semantic description of mentioned vocabulary in the dictionary of the 19^th century Russian language.