Levada… This melodic word has long misled the minds of Russian writers. After all, as soon as they got used to one of its lexical forms, it immediately, as if at the behest of a magic wand, turned into a completely different concept. Time after time, the meaning of the word "levada" eluded their inquisitive minds, teasing with its fickleness.
Years have passed, it would seem that now Russian dictionaries should have put everything in its place. But it is worth looking into them, and at the same hour a thousand questions arise in the head. And therefore, let's finally correct this misunderstanding and put in their place all the interpretations of this word.
Through the lens of history
Many scientists are inclined to believe that this word originally meant a certain type of terrain. So, according to one ancient manuscript, a levada is a part of a backyard plot left for haymaking. In the old days, almost every villager had such plots of land, because otherwise it would be very difficult to feed the household.
Over the years, thisthe word spread throughout the southern European part of Russia. True, now not only haymaking is called levada, but also any piece of land that was next to the house. And it does not matter at all whether grass, bushes or even forest trees grow there.
Transformation of the word near the border with Ukraine
For Ukrainians, a levada is a part of a deciduous forest, which is located next to a certain reservoir. At the same time, its boundaries are determined by the spill, and to be more precise, its end points.
It is curious that in some border regions of Russia this interpretation of the word is used in oral speech even today. For example, such a sentence: “Yesterday, the earth finally completely dried out after the spill. Therefore, today our team of lumberjacks began cleaning the levada. For the most part, poplars underwent sanitary felling, but the alder had to be completely removed.”
Modern levada is a paradise for horses
Now, more and more often, special paddocks designed for walking horses are called levada. In practice, these are large plots of land surrounded by a wooden or metal fence. Grass is often sown on their territory so that the horse can not only frolic enough, but also eat fresh vitamins.
At the same time, one should understand the fact that horses are let out on the levada only so that they can rest from life in the paddock. And then many horse breeders prefer to do without it, since not every one of them can acquire such a huge area of \u200b\u200bland. Not even speaking about,that it needs to be fenced off from the rest of the plot with a hedge, and grass should be sown there.
