An interesting article by O. A. Anishchenko examines the history of using the word conduit in the jargon of pre-revolutionary secondary educational institutions in Russia of the XIX-early XX centuries, but its roots are deeper and go back to the Peter the Great era.
The first information about the time when the word conduit appeared in the Russian language was given by N. A. Smirnov's "Dictionary of foreign words that entered the Russian language in the era of Peter the Great" with reference to the Naval Charter: "Conduit, gol. conduit, behavior. He (General Admiral) should be hrabru and dobrago conduit (in other words, any expiration date) which qualities (or qualities) would be associated with virtue" (St. Petersburg, 1910).
"Essays on the historical lexicology of the Russian language of the XVIII century" did not include the word conduit. "Dictionary of the Russian language of the XVIII century" does not provide earlier material, but places the feminine form of conduit as a new word that went out of use in the XVIII century (Birzhakova E. E., Voinova L. A., Kutana L. L. Essays on the historical lexicology of the Russian language of the XVIII century: Language contacts and borrowings. L., 1972; Dictionary Russian language of the XVIII century. L., 1998. Issue 10).
A rare form of the feminine gender was used as early as 1772: "[Milodora] He is a person who has many quantities; yes, the main thing is evo conduit hood" (Sumarokov A. P. Mother is a part-time daughter / / Poly. collected works of Moscow, 1781). The conduit form was more often used in business papers until the very end of the XVIII century: "On the good conduit presented worthy of the work" (Materials for the history of the Russian Fleet. Documents and emails. 1702-1783 St. Petersburg, 1865-1883. Part IX). "Dictionary of the Russian language of the XVIII century", based on the already existing interpretation of this word in the lexicography of the XVIII-early XIX centuries, gives this meaning:: "Conduit ...
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