Russian

English

Alternative forms

  • (abbreviation): Ru.

Etymology

From Medieval Latin (11th century) Russiānus, the adjective of Russia, a Latinization of the Old East Slavic Русь (Rusĭ). Attested in English (both as a noun and as an adjective) from the 16th century. By surface analysis, Russia +‎ -an.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɹʌʃ(ə)n/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ʌʃən

Adjective

Russian (comparative more Russian, superlative most Russian)

  1. Of or pertaining to Russia.
    • 2017 February 19, “Putin”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 4, episode 2, John Oliver (actor), via HBO:
      So that is the official line: you’re shit, we’re shit, everything’s shit, never try for a better world because it doesn’t exist. That is not only bleak, I think it’s also the working title of every Russian novel ever written.
    • 2022 March 10, Kaitlan Collins, Manu Raju, Kate Sullivan, MJ Lee and John Harwood, “Biden calls for suspending normal trade relations with Russia and will ban imports of vodka and seafood”, in CNN‎[1]:
      “Revoking PNTR for Russia is going to make it harder for Russia to do business with the United States and doing it in unison with other nations that make up half of the global economy will be another crushing blow to the Russian economy that’s already suffering very badly from our sanctions,” Biden said.
  2. (dated) Of or pertaining to the Soviet Union.
  3. (dated) Of or pertaining to Rus.
  4. Of or pertaining to the Russian language.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

  • → Chinese: 羅宋 / 罗宋 (luósòng)
  • → Ukrainian: ра́шин (rášyn), ра́шн (rášn)

Translations

Noun

Russian (countable and uncountable, plural Russians)

  1. (countable) A citizen of Russia.
    • 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 85:
      A grim smile plays about Tarzan’s lips. At least Rokoff will be cheated. How mad he will be! And death will be more merciful than he could have hoped for at the hands of the Russian.
    • 1983, Peace and Security in the Atlantic and Pacific Regions, page 69:
      But be that as it may: the Great Russian chauvinist Voznesenskii knew exactly how best to touch upon the asiaphobic nerve of his fellow-countrymen, how to stimulate the deep-rooted irrational fears of the Russians of peril looming from Asia, and how to turn those fears against China.
    • 2022 March 10, Kaitlan Collins, Manu Raju, Kate Sullivan, MJ Lee and John Harwood, “Biden calls for suspending normal trade relations with Russia and will ban imports of vodka and seafood”, in CNN‎[2]:
      “I believe the Russians – the inhumane behavior of Russia does not justify it to get the fruits of the international community,” Wyden told CNN.
  2. (countable) An ethnic Russian; a member of the East Slavic ethnic group which is native to, and constitutes the majority of the population of, Russia.
  3. (countable, obsolete) A person from the Soviet Union.
  5. (uncountable) The Russian language.
    • 2015, Shane R. Reeves, David Wallace, “The Combatant Status of the “Little Green Men” and Other Participants in the Ukraine Conflict”, in International Law Studies, US Naval War College‎[3], volume 91, number 361, Stockton Center for the Study of International Law, page 393:
      The “little green men”—faces covered, wearing unmarked olive uniforms, speaking Russian and using Russian weapons—have played a significant role in both the occupation of Crimea and the civil war in eastern Ukraine.196
  6. A domestic cat breed.
  7. A cat of this breed.
  8. (juggling, rare in the singular) A type of juggling ball with a hard outer shell, filled with salt, sand or another similar substance.
    • 2011, jamescoutry24, “Beanbags > Russian”, in rec.juggling (Usenet):
      Ok, I do think I am starting to get used to it, but you have to admit, if youve[sic] been juggling bags and then start juggling Russians, they feel sooo lopsided to juggle at first!
  9. (MLE, slang) Someone from or around Brandon Estate (also known as Moscow).
  10. (MLE, slang) A gun (due to some preference for Russian arms with gang members).
  11. (South Africa) A kind of sausage derived from Russian Kolbasa.

Verb

Russian (third-person singular simple present Russians, present participle Russianing, simple past and past participle Russianed)

  1. (transitive, obsolete) To compel or force someone as a result of Russian influence or pressure.

Synonyms

Translations

See also

Further reading

See also

  • Appendix:Russian Swadesh list for a Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words in Russian
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