It is common that the name of restaurants that appeared in France is associated with the era of Napoleonic wars - supposedly the word Bistro comes from Russian “quickly”. We checked whether this is really so.

The details of the story that led to the emergence of such an etymological version differ from the source to the source, but in general form it boils down to the following: after the capture of Paris, the Russian military company drank in a small restaurant. They did not know the French language and, when the drinks ended, in Russian said to the waiter: "Quickly!" Subsequently, this call was transformed into the French word Bistro, which became a common house. This version is stated on tourist sites, and on the site "Military Review". Several users are sure of her reliability "Mail.ru answers" and resource "Big question". On one of the French sites, dedicated to Napoleon, even more extravagant version is nominated: supposedly the word “quickly” in the execution of the Cossacks was heard in the tavern soldiers of the French army during the campaign of 1812.

Unfortunately, for supporters of the “Russian” etymology of the word “bistro”, the chronology of events is not on their side. Authoritative historical dictionary Le Petit Robert Fixes The first use of this word in French only in 1884, that is, seven decades after the appearance of the Russian army in the city. According to this publication, etymology is associated with dialectic French Bistouille (“bad alcohol, poison”), and the word itself has two meanings: “The wine merchant containing a cafe” and “cafe, a modest restaurant”. The likelihood that the word has appeared and has not been used for so many years, linguists Assess How small. Experts also pay attention to the fact that simultaneously with Bistro in the second half of the 19th century, the words Bistraud (“Little Service of the Wine”) and Bistingo (“Kabaret”) appeared, which are not connected with the Russians.

Linguist David Gold Curses A number of other arguments that question the version of the connection of the words “Bistro” and “quickly”. In particular, he studied Paris guides published in the 19th century, and did not find restaurants that were positioned as Bistro. Gold also draws attention to the fact that in other European languages (for example, English and Italian) this word appeared only in the 20th century - if the version about the Russian roots of the word was true, it is unlikely that in a hundred years no one would mention it in ways notes or letters.

Apparently, the version of the connection of the French Bistro and the Russian “quickly” appeared in the second half of the last century. The same David Gold notes that he did not meet her references in the sources earlier than the 1970s. Most likely, this is no coincidence-on the 180th anniversary of the institution “Mother Katrin”, which appeared shortly after the Great French Revolution, and now Positions yourself like a bistro, on its wall Placed A memorial plate. The inscription on this plate tells of the Cossacks who shouted "quickly!", And supposedly "this is how the ancestor of all our bistro appeared." In 2014 Installed Another tablet, already with a Russian translation and the exact date of the “invention” of the word - March 30, 1814, day The capture of Paris by the Gregorian calendar. It is possible that both signs are nothing more than a marketing move, because French linguists They think This etymology is implausible.