Lexicographic portrayal of the lexeme “yolka” (fir tree)

<jats:p>This study constructs a lexicographic portrait of the Russian word “yolka” (fir tree) based on the analysis of various linguistic dictionaries. The research was conducted by comparing the lexical meanings of the lexeme and providing its comprehensive characterization in etymological, derivational, grammatical, syntactic, stylistic, phraseological, and pragmatic aspects, in accordance with the principles of lexicographic portrayal developed by Yu. D.bApresyan. Eight lexical-semantic variants, as well as thirteen dialectal meanings of this unit, have been identified, and their functions in the language have been analyzed. Through its significative relations, the lexeme “yolka” shows a strong connection with the traditions, culture, and mentality of Russian speakers. However, a comprehensive lexicographic description of this lexeme has not been previously undertaken in linguistics, which justifies the relevance of this research. The paper presents the etymology of the word “yolka” and traces the process of semantic separation of its meanings associated with New Year and Christmas semantics, from the interpretation of the original lexemeb– “yel” (fir)b– in Russian and related languages. It provides a classification of the lexeme’s definitions as reflected in different types of dictionaries and systematizes the variants of its meanings recorded in these lexicographic sources. The results of the analysis of the word usage frequency and its associative field are also presented. The semantic characteristics of the lexeme “yolka” are analyzed in its functions as a noun, an adverb, and an interjection. Corpus studies of internet queries containing the word “yolka” confirm its broad nominative, derivational, and collocational potential, and prove its active functioning in speech. The presence of the lexeme “yolka” as a formant in a large number of fixed phrases with semantics reflecting various spheres of life, indicates the extensive phraseological, stylistic, and emotive potential of the unit under study.</jats:p>