варяг

Russian

Etymology

Inherited from Old East Slavic варѧгъ (varęgŭ), from Old Norse væringi.^[1] The figurative sense stems from the legendary summoning of Rurik and the Varangians by the East Slavs.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [vɐˈrʲak]
Audio: (file)

Noun

варя́г • (varjág) m anim (genitive варя́га, nominative plural варя́ги, genitive plural варя́гов or варя́г, feminine варя́жка, relational adjective варяжский)

(historical) Varangian, Viking
(modern use) an outsider or foreigner brought in to lead or help an organization or company, e.g. local bodies of state administration or a sports team
Зачем нам приглашать варяга, если есть свой специалист?
Začem nam priglašatʹ varjaga, jesli jestʹ svoj specialist?
Why should we invite an outsider if we have our own specialist?

Declension

Declension of варя́г (anim masc-form velar-stem accent-a irreg)

	singular	plural
nominative	варя́г varjág	варя́ги varjági
genitive	варя́га varjága	варя́гов, варя́г^△* varjágov, varjág^△*
dative	варя́гу varjágu	варя́гам varjágam
accusative	варя́га varjága	варя́гов, варя́г^△* varjágov, varjág^△*
instrumental	варя́гом varjágom	варя́гами varjágami
prepositional	варя́ге varjáge	варя́гах varjágax

^△Irregular.
^*The irregular genitive/accusative plural forms are archaic.

Derived terms

из варя́г в гре́ки (iz varjág v gréki)

Descendants

→ Armenian: վարյագ (varyag)
→ English: Varyag, Variag
→ French: varègue
→ German: Waräger
→ Norwegian Nynorsk: varjag, varæg
→ Swedish: varjag, varäg

References

^ Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “варяг”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress

Ukrainian