пацан

From an unidentified form; presumably Southern Russian or Ukrainian пацю́к (pacjúk, “piglet, rat”), with the expressive suffix -ан (-an).

• IPA^(key): [pɐˈt͡san]

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паца́н • (pacán) m anim (genitive пацана́, nominative plural пацаны́, genitive plural пацано́в)

1. (colloquial) boy, kid, lad, fella (referring to a boy or a young man; can be used as a term of address)
2. (criminal slang) gang member

• → Polish: pacan

From an unidentified form; presumably Ukrainian пацю́к (pacjúk, “piglet, rat”), with the expressive suffix -ан (-an).

• IPA^(key): [pɐˈt͡san]

паца́н • (pacán) m pers (genitive пацана́, nominative plural пацани́, genitive plural пацані́в)

1. (colloquial) boy, kid, lad, fella (referring to a boy or a young man; can be used as a term of address)

   Synonym: хлопча́к (xlopčák)

2. (criminal slang) gang member

• Bilodid, I. K., editor (1970–1980), “пацан”, in Словник української мови: в 11 т. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: in 11 vols] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka
• Shyrokov, V. A., editor (2010–2025), “пацан”, in Словник української мови: у 20 т. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: in 20 vols] (in Ukrainian), volumes 1–15 (а – п'ять), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka; Ukrainian Lingua-Information Fund, →ISBN
• Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1982–2012), “пацан”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka