GENESIS OF THE WHITE COLOUR TERMINOLOGY IN THE INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES
Colour is a diverse phenomenon which is manifested in different spheres and reflects world picture. All its aspects are interconnected and shown in semantic constituent and algorithm of usage. Being the part of common Indo-European lexis, colour terms obviously acquire particular features in specific languages. However semantic and etymological parallels are evident. The white colour belongs to in the triad of semioticaly basic colours and possesses rather intriguing etymology. White is achromatic, minor informative, psychologically neutral, and evident in semantics. It has ambivalent semantics, discreteness of meaning, and enigmatic etymology. In the Indo-European languages the main constituent of these words semantics is characteristics of glitter. On the modern stage of language development this aspect is lost, sometimes together with the lexis itself. We can find certain parallels in modern languages, but not within the field of the main colour terminology. The difference between colour terms in the Slavic languages is rather slight, connected with phonetical changes rather than semantics and process of borrowing.