Dzhymbalos
The most famous Crimean word, whose etymology has remained unstudied.
Maksym Dubovyaz. "Krymska Svitlytsia" Newspaper, 2018, Issue No. 34
Among typically Crimean words, this is perhaps the most famous. It carries in itself the taste of a quiet Crimean autumn, golden rather not because of the gold of Crimean forests — they stand green for a long time yet, but because of the reddening bronze of harvested vineyards and apple orchards. Sometimes it is interpreted more broadly and extended to the opportunity to freely search not only among orchards, but also on other harvested plantations for vegetables missed by the harvesters, even early potatoes in June. But the classic is grapes.
The etymology of the word "dzhymbalos" has not been studied; the pronunciation similar to the medieval Italian name of Balaklava — "Cembalo" — is, most likely, a purely phonetic coincidence. There is no unity either in the interpretation of the origin of the phenomenon itself or, perhaps, custom. The most "social" version considers that this is, so to speak, a gift for the poor "from the bounty" of the orchard owners. On the other hand, in the rush of harvesting work, of course, there are bound to be oversights, and what is not harvested belongs to no one.
Later, the thrifty harvester himself can return to the already harvested and opened master's plantation, where he left for himself, for his post-harvest leisure, a bunch or two of berries hidden among the leaves. Therefore, perhaps, there is a slight shade of intrigue, adventure, and excitement in the concept of "dzhymbalos."
The most pragmatic version is the November one. The leaves falling in late autumn suddenly reveal more and more remains of the harvest previously hidden behind them. So they go "dzhymbalosing" for them, sometimes several times, until the vineyards are completely bare, when the last, withered, pre-winter bunches with shriveled berries are visible from afar, yet still suitable for wine. And the rest will be pecked by birds, and then the vinegrowers come with pruning shears for the winter pruning of the vines... Crimea is romance, romantic words are in demand among artists. The Crimean word "dzhymbalos" can catch the eye somewhere in Kharkiv too — for example, it is the name of an art exhibition. The figurative meaning that the word acquires in such a context is an autumn, late, not very luxurious wealth.
This Crimean word, almost no longer used in modern Crimean daily life, stretches its thin thread, tying our dear Crimea to our one and only Ukraine in the world.