STYLISTIC ASPECT OF IDIOMS' ETYMOLOGY

The purpose of the research is to analyze the etymological component in the semantics of idioms, determine the content of the motivational component in the semantics of idioms: reveal the basis, content and criteria for motivation of the meaning of idioms. To accomplish this goal, the following tasks were set: to specify the difference between a phraseological unit and an idiomatic expression; to describe the origin of the most commonly-used phraseological units and idioms; to analyze the stylistic reference and define the stylistic register of the units under study, including the modern stylistic context the analysed expressions are used in. The outlined tasks required the use of such methods of linguistic research as component, cognitive, distributive, etymological analyses. Each of these methods is used for its own purposes: the method of component analysis is used to determine the significative meaning of an idiom; the cognitive method is used to reveal the inner form of an idiom; the etymological method is used to restore the original image of the inner form and historical motivation of the meanings of idioms. Phraseological units and idioms are different in their nature since idioms reflect the national colouring, but there is no consensus reached in this topic. Thought the diachronic aspect of etymology of idioms and phraseological units is still a matter of discussion, the diachronic etymology analysis of the phraseological units and idioms under study yielded the following results: out of thirty-five units, three units reveal Ancient Greek or Roman origin (Latin borrowings); ten units originated in the span of time around the Middle Ages; seven units came into use in the period of the 17^th-19^th centuries; twelve units refer to the 20^th-21^st centuries; the diachronic origin of four units is unknown. It was concluded that the 20^th and the 21^st centuries prove to be the most productive time for the appearance of new idiomatic expressions and phraseology, and most of the idiomatic phrases can be described as coinages made by people in the process of speech. Since etymology does not possess reliable sources and exact data, some origins of the set-expressions are either unknown or vary from source to source. There is no reliable information in linguistic literature about dating the idioms' origin or of the exact amount of borrowed units. Therefore the conclusions made need further verification.