Our time brings back to life words and concepts that seem to have long been forgotten or half-forgotten and are located on the periphery of the language. In Russian, the phrase infernal machine has been known for about two hundred years. Source-direct tracing paper from the French machine infernale. In French, this expression appeared after 1693, when the French used explosive devices of great destructive power connected to a clockwork mechanism against the English in Saint-Malo. Invented in 1657 by X. Huygens mechanical watches were adapted by the French for military purposes. The effect - mainly psychological-compared to the bombs (already known in Europe) was so great that a metaphorical designation was born in the language, based on a comparison with a fiery hell - machine infernale. The first written record of the expression dates back to 1704 (Tresor de la langue francaise. Paris, 1985. Vol. II), and it was used in the speech of the military until the end of the XVIII century. In 1800, this device was used to assassinate Napoleon Bonaparte, the first consul of the Republic. Since then, it has passed from professional language into general use and acquired a new meaning - "an explosive device with a clockwork mechanism used for the purpose of an attempt" (first recorded-1801; Littre E. Dictionnare de la langue francaise. 1964. Vol. 4; Tresor de la lange francaise. Paris, 1985. Vol. II). From French, it was converted (in the first third of the XIX century) to German - Hollenmaschine (Noll - hell), replacing the former Sprengkorper "explosive checker" (Spreng-explosion, Kdgreg-skeleton, body) and Zeitzunder "fire - conducting (Bickford) cord" ( Zeit - time, Zunder-west, fuse (Brockhaus Enziklopadie. Wiesbaden, 1969, Т. 8; Etymologisches Worterhuch des Deutschen. H.P. Berlin, 1989). Before we begin to study the borrowed expression infernal machine, it is necessary to briefly focus on the history of the word machine in Russian, without knowing the semantics of the ... Read more