The word used in the sense of "shut up, fade away, quietly, stealthily hide" was introduced into literary speech by F. M. Dostoevsky. For the first time it appeared in his novel "The Double" in 1846: "Mechanically he looked around: it occurred to him that somehow, this way at hand, sideways, secretly slip away from sin, this way to take-yes and fade away" (Dostoevsky F. M. Poly. collected works: In 30 vols. l., 1972. Vol. 1. p. 135).

Later, in the Writer's Diary for 1877, Dostoevsky said that the word was originally used by his classmates at the Main Engineering School, who constantly had to deal with obscuring various plans and drawings.

Permanent link to this publication: