Adjective soevyi and its lexicographic analysis

Abstract

The article is devoted to the transformations of the systemic relations of the word soevyi (paradigmatic, syntagmatic, associative-derivational), used figuratively in modern Russian. The analysis is based on materials from articles found in the online English lexicographic resource Urban Dictionary, the database New in Russian Vocabulary. Dictionary Materials, the archive Integrum (2020–2025), the Russian National Corpus, as well as online content from the Vkontakte website, which is not reflected in either the Russian National Corpus or the Integrum archive and was collected through unselective sampling. A review of lexicographic sources shows that explanatory dictionaries mainly record only the direct meanings of the adjective soevyi, associated with the food industry and agriculture. Clearly, the neologism soevyi is a calque from the English word soy. In English, it is used to describe a young man who stereotypically exhibits feminine traits (gentleness, vulnerability, a desire to look attractive, passivity, excessive emotionality). In Russian, this new meaning has been documented primarily in online publications from 2020–2021, and as its usage spreads, the word soevyi gradually loses its strong association with gender semantics. In socio-political discourse, the use of soevyi serves as a marker of verbal aggression, often employed to ridicule or insult. The semantic field of the lexeme soevyi in Russian has expanded to encompass additional components. When using the soy nomination, the speaker or writer draws attention not only to a person’s appearance, character traits, or behavioral peculiarities but also to their political views and worldview, frequently mocking and condemning their actions and attitudes toward current events. Based on the identified macro- and microcomponents of the new lexical meaning of the word soevyi, an example of a dictionary entry for a neological dictionary is presented.