The Functioning of the Word-Combinations with the Firebird Component in Modern Russian

The Firebird, a fairy-tale character in Slavic mythology, has attracted the attention of Russian people since ancient times. The image of the firebird is associated with the search for happiness and a better life, which brings it together with the bluebird, created in Western European culture. Over time, the word firebird acquired a symbolic meaning, which is fixed in various dictionaries of the Russian language. Combined with other lexical units, the noun firebird has become a component of a number of word-combinations, such as ловить/поймать жар-птицу, поймать за хвост жар-птицу, найти перо жар-птицы, жар-птица удачи. All these fixed expressions convey figurative meanings that go back to one idea - to find happiness and good luck. In fixed expressions with the substantive firebird, the cohesion of the verbal and nominal components is relatively free. It allows for individual variations associated with the expansion of the composition of the expression, the replacement of the verb and the choice of its supplementary form. In literary and journalistic texts, the phenomenon of literalization and contamination of fixed expressions is also noted. Thus, the author's usage of the fixed word-combinations proves the timeless significance of the image of the firebird in Russian culture.