стђн waist, torso, body

waist
Ћн тќхо ћбнял стрћйный её стђн и тќхо привлёк её к своемџ сљрдцу. [А. Пџшкин, Дубрћвский] He slowly encircled her shapely waist, and slowly drew her to his breast. [A. Pushkin, "Dubrovsky"]
torso
[Ћн] мгновљнно охватќл глазђми её облечённый в бљлую кћфту и тёмную єбку стрћйный стђн с гќбкой и сќльной тђлией. [А. Фадљев, Молодђя гвђрдия] In an instant his eyes captured her well-built, white-sweatered and dark-skirted torso with its lithe, strong waist. [A. Fadeev, The Young Guard]
body
... онђ повернџлась на стџле, легкћ и естљственно изогнџла длќнный стђн, достђла с буфљта сзђди пљпельницу... [В. Набћков, Дђр] ... she turned in her chair, easily and naturally twisted her long body, obtained an ashtray from the sideboard behind her... [V. Nabokov, The Gift]

Semantics

This entry is concerned with the use of the word стђн to refer to the part of a human torso from the lower ribs to the upper abdomen as an element of the figure or to the upper portion of the torso, e.g. длќнный стђн "a long waist." This word is used in poetic style to describe the shape of someone's body and also certain gestures and movements involving someone's waist. It does not refer to animals.

Morphology

стђн SS m.in.noun

Use of prepositions: со vs. с

The variant со rather than с is used with the word стђн.

Syntax

Syntactic actants

Actant 1: whose waist it is
(a) Genitive
(b) Possessive
Стђн дљвушки бІл тћнкий и гќбкий. The girl's waist was slender and lithe.
Ширћкий пћяс охвђтывал её стђн. The wide belt encircled her waist.
NB When the word стђн functions as a subject and does not have a descriptive modifier, the construction стђн у + Genitive is often preferred to (a) and (b), above:
Стђн у дљвушки бІл тћнкий и гќбкий. The girl's waist was slender and lithe.

Lexical Relationships

Synonyms

тђлия waist (the middle section of the torso)

Size, shape, and other properties

NB The word стђн is used only with those adjectives that refer to positive properties of the person's figure.
тћнкий стђн a slender waist
длќнный стђн a long waist
стрћйный стђн a shapely waist
изїщный стђн an elegant waist
гќбкий стђн a lithe waist
Николђй Петрћвич предстђвил егћ Базђрову: Пђвел Петрћвич слегкђ наклонќл свћй гќбкий стђн и слегкђ улыбнџлся... [И. Тургљнев, ОтцІ и дљти] Nikolai Petrovich introduced him to Bazarov: Pavel Petrovich inclined his lithe torso slightly, and gave a small smile... [I. Turgenev, Fathers and Sons]

Movements

изгибђть/изогнџть стђнa to bend at the waist
брђть/взїть: Nn1 берёт Na2 за стђнa;
обнимђть/обнїть: Nn1 обнимђет Na2 за стђнa 		N1 grasps N2 around the waist
NB Usually N1 denotes a man and N2 a woman.

Other expressions

охвђтывать [no Pf.]: Nn охвђтывает стђнa N encircles someone's waist
NB N = пћяс "sash," рљмень "belt," etc.

Sample texts

... стрћйный, тћнкий стђн егћ и ширћкие плљчи докђзывали крљпкое сложљние. [М. Лљрмонтов, Максќм Максќмыч] ... his well-built, slender waist and broad shoulders gave proof of his strong constitution. [M. Lermontov, "Maksim Maksimych"]