Сопли

2017-02-23

сопля, in its plural form сопли, means mucus that runs from the nose. This definition is marked by Кузнецов as low colloquial, that is, “intentionally somewhat rude”. When my nose was runny people asked me, сопли пошли?, without any signs of rudeness or even disgust. Given its informal character, an apt translation would be snot. A more technical way of referring to it would be носовая слизь, literally nasal mucus.

There are cognates of сопля in other slavic languages, but older etymology seems dubious: Vasmer mentions a possible connection to, e.g., Latin sapa, meaning must or new wine boiled thick, but Starling’s database doesn’t make the link, and neither does AHD.

• Portuguese: Não importa quantas vezes você assoe o nariz: não será tão fácil se livrar dele, o pavoroso ranho.
• English: Discovering that the snot coming out of your baby’s nose is a rainbow of colors can cause a lot of nervousness.
• Greek: Στο στάδιο του βήχα η μύξα του παιδιού έχει συνήθως γίνει πηχτή και το παιδί εμφανίζεται να «πνίγεται» στο ξάπλωμα ή όταν ξυπνάει ή μετά το γάλα του.
• Russian: Густые желто-зеленые сопли у грудничка или ребенка постарше могут быть спровоцированы одной из самых банальных причин – подавлением иммунных функций организма.

• French: Engluées dans la “morve”, ces particules extérieures sont envoyées, par l’écoulement, dans la gorge puis dans l’estomac où elles seront détruites.

• Portuguese: O muco é produzido por um tipo especializado de célula, a célula caliciforme, que segrega continuamente glóbulos de muco.
• English: Most of the mucus produced is in the gastrointestinal tract.
• Greek: Η βλέννα περιέχει σε μεγάλη ποσότητα νερό και γλυκοπρωτείνες.
• Russian: Слизь — продукт секреции клеток, в многоклеточных организмах — преимущественно эпителиальной ткани слизистых оболочек.
• French: On connait de nombreuses fonctions aux mucus.