Rus

• Rus'
• Rūs (in the context of transliteration from Arabic)

Earlier form Russ from German Russe etc., from Old East Slavic Русь (Rusĭ). More recent use influenced by Russian Русь (Rusʹ), from Old East Slavic Русь (Rusĭ). Use with macron was probably influenced by the transliteration of Arabic رُوس (rūs).

Compare Russ, Russian, Russie, Russniak, Rusyn, Ruthenian.

Also compare Swedish Ryss, Dutch Rus, German Russe, French Russe, Byzantine Greek Ῥῶς (Rhôs), Russian Русь (Rusʹ), Belarusian Русь (Rusʹ), Ukrainian Русь (Rusʹ). Also compare Russian ру́сский (rússkij, “Ethnic Russian, of Rus”), россия́нин (rossijánin, “Russian national”), Росси́я (Rossíja, “Russia”).

See further Etymology of Rus and derivatives.

• IPA^(key): /ɹuːs/, /ɹʌs/
• Rhymes: -uːs, -ʌs

Rus (countable and uncountable, plural Rus)

1. A people made up of Scandinavian warrior merchants who travelled Eastern European river-roads from the eighth century, and whose settlements around Novgorod, Kiev/Kyiv and the Volga and Dnieper/Dnipro gave rise to the Rus' principalities. [from 19th c.]
   • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 504:

     In 860 the Rus’ streamed southwards and laid siege to Constantinople itself.

2. Kievan Rus', the medieval East Slavic state established by these same warrior merchants in the 9th century, whose capital was in Kiev.
3. Any of the medieval East Slavic principalities ruled by this class, especially Kievan Rus.
4. (poetic) The nation of Russia, especially in a transcendent or romantic sense referring to the history and culture of the country.

This neutral term is used more often instead of Russia or medieval Russia, acknowledging that the Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian people share the heritage of Rus.

With this innovation, it is sometimes unclear how to replace the adjective Russian in the same context. Alternatives include using the attributive noun, as in “the Rus princes”, or rewriting to use “of Rus”. The nonstandard adjective Rusian is seen very rarely.

• (Scandinavians in Eastern Europe): Varangians
• (Kievan Rus): Kievan Rus, Kievan Rus', Kyivan Rus, Kyivan Rus'
• (East Slavic principalities): Rus' principalities
• (Russia): Kiev, Kyiv

• Rusian, Rus'ian (rare)
• White Rus

Rus (plural Rus)

1. A person from Rus.
   • 1959, Boris Dmitrievich Grekov, Kiev Rus, Foreign Languages Pub. House, p 244:

     And if a Rus hits a Greek, or a Greek a Rus with a sword, a spear or any other weapon, he shall pay five litres of silver for his offence, in accordance with Rus law; and if he be unable (insolvent—Author) his property shall be sold for the best price it fetches, including the very clothes . . .

   • 1959, Sergeĭ Mikhaĭlovich Solov’ev, History of Russia from the Earliest Times [2000], v 3 (The Shift Northward: Kievan Rus, 1154–1228), p 223:

     If a Varangian claimed money from a Rus, or a Rus from a Varangian, and the debtor refused to pay, the plaintiff, accompanied by twelve witnesses, . . .

   • 1973, Donald W. Treadgold, The West in Russia and China: Religious and Secular Thought in Modern Times, v 1 (Russia, 1472–1917), →ISBN, p xxxv:

     The Church of Kievan Rus knew men well-versed in Scripture and apparently other learning of the time, such as the Metropolitans Ioann II (d. 1089) and Klimetn Smoliatich (twelfth century). The former was Greek, and the latter a Rus.

• James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Rus”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.
• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “Rus”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

• usr, SRU, urs, URs, Sur., sur-, RSU

Rus (plural Russe, diminutive Russie)

1. Russian (person from Russia or of Russian descent)

• Rusland
• Russies

From Old High German rōsa, from Latin rosa.

• IPA^(key): /ʀuːs/

Rus f (plural Ruse, diminutive Rüsje or Riesche)

1. (most dialects) rose

• The diminutive Rüsje is Ripuarian; the form Riesche is Moselle Franconian.

• IPA^(key): [ˈrus]

Inherited from Old Czech Rus, ultimately derived from Old East Slavic Русь (Rusĭ).

Rus m anim (female equivalent Ruska)

1. Russian (person)

   Synonym: (colloquial) Rusák

Inherited from Old Czech Rus.

Rus f

1. (literary) Russia

   mátuška Rus ― Mother Russia

2. (historical) Rus

   Kyjevská Rus ― Kievan Rus

• “Rus”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “Rus”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Rus m anim (female equivalent Rusová)

1. a male surname

• “Rus”, in Příjmení.cz (in Czech)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʏs
• IPA^(key): /rʏs/

Rus m (plural Russen, diminutive Rusje n, feminine Russin)

1. Russian
2. (Bargoens) detective

From rusy or Rus ("Ruthenian" or "Russian").

• IPA^(key): /ˈrus/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -us
• Syllabification: Rus

Rus m pers

1. a male surname

Rus f (indeclinable)

1. a female surname

• “Rus”, in Internetowy słownik nazwisk w Polsce [Internet dictionary of surnames in Poland], 2022

From rus.

• Audio:

  (file)

Rus m

1. a village in Dumbrăvița, Maramureș County, Romania
2. a commune of Sălaj County, Romania
3. a village in Rus, Sălaj County, Romania

• IPA^(key): /rûs/

Rȕs m anim (Cyrillic spelling Ру̏с)

1. Russian (male)

• “Rus”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

• IPA^(key): [rus]

Rus m pers (female equivalent Ruska)

1. Russian (person)

Rus m pers (female equivalent Rusová)

1. a male surname originating as an ethnonym

• “Rus”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

• Rusko
• ruský
• rusky
• ruština

• IPA^(key): /rúːs/

Rȗs m anim (female equivalent Rúsinja)

1. Russian (male person)

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine anim., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	Rús
gen. sing.	Rúsa
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	Rús	Rúsa	Rúsi
genitive (rodȋlnik)	Rúsa	Rúsov	Rúsov
dative (dajȃlnik)	Rúsu	Rúsoma	Rúsom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	Rúsa	Rúsa	Rúse
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	Rúsu	Rúsih	Rúsih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	Rúsom	Rúsoma	Rúsi

• Rúsija
• rúski
• rúščina

• “Rus”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “Rus”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references

Rus (definite accusative Rus'u, plural Ruslar)

1. A Russian person (nationality)

   Synonym: (colloquial) Moskof