EN
The article considers the semantic and word-formative family developed by the word караван in different varieties of the Russian language (mostly in dialects). The author reveals the main directions of the semantic development of this word, and characterizes the ethnocultural context which contributes to these changes. In addition, the paper undertakes a semantic reconstruction of some words which constitute a family but whose motivation is unclear (for example, караваниться ‘to linger’, ‘to be capricious’).