Talk:List of English words of Russian origin

Words to delete

Some of these words already have equivalents in english language

Cosmonaut = Astronaut

They have difference in meaning that identifies origin of a person. Cosmonaut is from USSR/Russia, astronaut is from US or Europe, Taikonaut is from China. 195.211.195.185 (talk) 11:20, 23 December 20uyitreioyfa HOME

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Dvoryanstvo = Nobility

Spetsnaz = Special forces

Stavka = Staff (military)

Katorga = imprisonment with (hard?) labour (not sure if that's the correct legal term)

Ukase = decree

Elektrichka = electric-powered train

Banya = saunadrsa

Burlak = bfddf arge-puller

Dacha = summerhouse

Mat = profanity

Zek = a convicterh oiytr2e7((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>>_<>

Propiska = registered place of residence?

Rasputitsa = mud season — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rheinguld (talk • contribs) 09:02, 29 September 2012 (UTC)

---

"Sbitenshchik" is a derivative of a word "Sbiten"

"Pavlova" can't be considered a loanword because it's derived from a personal name.

"Commissar" is obviously a french word and there were commissars in tsarist times (although I don't remember what their purpose was).

"Tsar" is a church slavonic word.

Don't know how did "preved", "padonki" and "chainik" get into this list.

Rheinguld 12:43, 21 Sep 2012 (UTC)

Kpalion's suggestion

I suggest merging this list and List of English words of Polish origin into one new article List of English words of Slavic origin. The two lists have too much in common and I fear a war about "is this or that word Polish or Russian?" whan they're in fact Slavic. Kpalion 22:43, 25 Mar 2004 (UTC)

It is also to be noted that a huge part of the words mentioned here on this page are of Turkic origin, not russian. Out of the first set these are: balaclava, balalaika, Kazakh, steppe, kephir (kefir), kumis (kumys), kurgan... [[User:Halibutt|Halibutt]] 03:02, Oct 11, 2004 (UTC)

Balaclava and some of the other examples you mention are russified Turkic words, but they were already russified when they had gotten into the English language. The context really matters. I'm adding Balaclava (back?) to the list with the note that it's a russified originally Tatar name.24.6.239.183 (talk) 04:49, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

'Taiga' is also Turkic, according to my reference, as is 'mammoth' (from Tartar). 'Tundra' is not Slavic either, but from Sami. No way can this list be merged with a "Slavic" list. Alexander 007 03:24, 16 Feb 2005 (UTC)

• I agree that no merging should take place. As someone who has read every list in the list of Lists of etymologies (and done in-depth research on about a third of them), I can tell you that there is much repitition, some out of sloppiness, and some out of careful consideration of conflicting theories. I think the best solution is to note these conflicting theories next to the word in question in all places that it appears (briefly of course) and provide a link(s) to the list in which that word also appears or to that word/concept's specific page (i.e. at mammoth) where the etymology can be treated in depth in one place. This way, someone truly interested in the matter can easily investigate it through links and novices can be aware of conflicting theories without being overwhelmed by an etymological flood.--Hraefen 00:54, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

The Oxford English Dictionary says that mammoth is Russian, (from "mamant" - The bones which were found in Russia before Europe took an interest.)

'Mammoth' is a russified Yakut word (not Tatar).24.6.239.183 (talk) 04:49, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

Bistro

Someone removed Bistro from the list. As a matter of fact that word is indeed of Russian origin, although it might've came to English from French. Halibutt 07:28, Apr 11, 2005 (UTC)

Perhaps it is, but I couldn't find any evidence of that in the Oxford English Dictionary, the Oxford American Dictionary, the American Heritage Dictionary, or the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. All of them list French as the only etymological source. I'd be glad to have it back if you can show any evidence that the word came to French from Russian. It's quite possible that it is in fact Russian; I just couldn't find any evidence in the usual areas of etymological inquiry. Nohat 07:22, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

You have looked not very carefully.

Word History: According to a popular story, bistro came into existence as a French word when Russian soldiers entered Parisian restaurants and cafés after the fall of Napoleon in 1815 shouting “bystro, bystro,” Russian for “quickly, quickly.” Bistros seem to have been named not for this desire for quick service but possibly for a commodity to be found in at least some of them, since the French word bistro may be related to the word bistouille,“raw spirits, rotgut.” Another possibility is that the word bistro comes from the dialectal word bistraud,“young cowherd.” In Standard French the term may have come to mean “wine merchant's helper” and then “an establishment selling wine.” Although the French word bistro is first recorded in 1884, evidence for the English word bistro is not found until the early 1920's.

Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition Copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V., further reproduction and distribution restricted in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved.

Attempts of AHD to debunk a "popular story" don't look convincing. (1) That somemone was looking for raw spirits (i.e., moonshine) in a restaurant is laughable idea. (2) "young cowherd" for "merchant's server" is so pitiful. And all reeks of what is called folk etymology, not much better than the Cossacks history. mikka (t) 15:34, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

Not to say taht removing someone's adition is an improper approach. You should have raised your doubts on the talk page first. And the best authority here is a French dictionary, not English. Parlez-vous...? mikka (t) 15:36, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

None of the 3 major English dictionaries with etymologies sanction the Russian origin of bistro, and this discussion from a 13-year-old edition of AHD acknowledges the story, but rejects it. Where are the etymological sources supporting the "popular story" theory that justify putting "bistro" back? Nohat 16:28, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

Kasha

• From Merriam-Webster Dictionary: "Etymology: Russian" [1]
• From American Heritage Dictionary: "Russian, from Old Russian" [2]
• From Oxford English Dictionary: "Kasha... [Russ.]" (no URL available.) See OED, 2nd ed. Nohat 06:38, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

Generic Slavic word, used in most Western and Eastern Slavic languages. What makes it a Russian word? Especially that it was in use at least since 10th century, that is long before Russian came to life? Halibutt 21:54, July 21, 2005 (UTC)

It may be that this word is shared among many Slavic languages, but the evidence available to the lexicographers at these major dictionaries indicates that the English word kasha was borrowed from Russian and not from any other Slavic language. If the evidence were unclear, then the etymology would say so. Nohat 07:11, 22 July 2005 (UTC)

Smetana

• From Oxford English Dictionary: "[a. Russ. smetána sour cream, f. smetat´ to sweep together, collect.] ", (no URL available.) see OED, 2nd ed.
• AHD and M-W only have biographical entries for Smetana, not the sour cream sense. Nohat 06:38, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

No wonder, after all it's a common noun in all Western Slavic languages, from where it was imported to Russian. Halibutt 21:53, July 21, 2005 (UTC)

Balalaika

• [3] Nohat 06:47, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

Cosmonaut

• [4] Nohat 06:47, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

Comes from Greek cosmos and nauta, or traveller. Hardly a Russian origin, though it is mostly used to denote astronauts from the eastern bloc. Halibutt 21:39, July 21, 2005 (UTC)

Intelligentsia

• [5] Nohat 06:47, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

Check the article on intelligentsia. There are proofs of the Polish origin of the term. Halibutt 21:40, July 21, 2005 (UTC)

Intelligentsia is a Russian Word

This is a Russian word meaning Intelligence. It is no way of Polish origin. Balalaika is a instrument invented by the Russian People. Cosmonaut is also Russian. Same as Kazakh which is a person living in Kazakhstan, or their language which has a lot of Russian words. Steppe, Taiga, and Tundra, are also Russian words. Shashlik and Mammoth are Russian words. Rusf (talk) 16:03, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

Kazakh

• [6] Nohat 06:47, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

Didn't you mean Cossack? Bronx 20:07, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

Steppe

• [7] Nohat 06:47, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

From Ukrainian step, which in turn came from Old Ruthenian. Halibutt 21:47, July 21, 2005 (UTC)

Taiga

• [8] Nohat 06:47, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

From either Yakut or Mongolian. Halibutt 21:44, July 21, 2005 (UTC)

Shashlik

• [9] Nohat 06:47, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

From Turkic sis or shish, meaning a poker or a broach; see sheesh-kebab for comparison. Unless of course kebab is also of Russian origin... Halibutt 21:45, July 21, 2005 (UTC)

Chernozem

• [10] Nohat 06:47, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

Might as well be of any other Slavic language, with Ukrainian being the most probable, but I'm not 100% sure on this one. Halibutt 21:46, July 21, 2005 (UTC)

If the etymological scholars that write the major respected English dictionaries say a word has Russian origin, it seems much more likely that they are right than some Wikipedian's unsourced theories. Show some legitimate etymological evidence that these words did not pass into English via Russian. Also, it is possible for words to have multiple origins; that is, a word that came to English ultimately OR proximately from that language, or anywhere in between. These "List of words of X origin" pages are not limited to words that are only ultimately from X language, but to any language through which the word passed on its way to English. Note, however, that "any language through which the word passed on its way to English" does not mean any language that also borrowed a word from the same language English did. Nohat 07:07, 22 July 2005 (UTC)

This one was introduced in English by translator of Vasily V. Dokuchaev's classic study Chernozem. --Ghirlandajo 12:06, 8 August 2005 (UTC)

Mammoth

(Pasted from above:) 'Taiga' is also Turkic, according to my reference, as is 'mammoth' (from Tartar). 'Tundra' is not Slavic either, but from Sami. No way can this list be merged with a "Slavic" list. Alexander 007 03:24, 16 Feb 2005 (UTC)

The Oxford English Dictionary says that mammoth is Russian, (from "mamant" - The bones which were found in Russia before Europe took an interest.) [11] User:Sonic Mew | talk to me 10:14, 17 Oct 2005 (UTC)

My dear Sonic Mew, your link says that English mammoth is from "an Old Russian word mamant"---yes it is, but apparently it didn't occur to you that this Old Russian word may not be native Slavonic, but in fact from a Turkic language? My AHD gives the etymology of English mammoth like this:

"[Obsolete Russian mammot' , from Tartar mamont, "earth"]"

---Is the AHD wrong? I'll let someone else research this, since I can't be bothered. Alexander 007 17:59, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

No, it is not wrong. We are speaking about words that came into English from Russian. The intro clearly says that many of them originated elsewhere. In some cases the "original origin" is indicated. mikka (t) 19:01, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

No, you misunderstand my dispute. I do not question that mammoth entered English from Russian. My dispute is that the Russian word may in turn be from Tatar, thus not a word of Slavic origin, so Kpalion's suggestion of moving the list to "List of English words of Slavic origin" was not a good idea (I was never suggesting removing the word mammoth from the List, I was objecting to merging with a List of English words of Slavic origin). The AHD simply states that mammoth is from Russian, and the Russian word is from Tatar. Alexander 007 19:04, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

also I have a feeling that Sonic Mew is under the impression that his Oxford link somehow proves that mamant is a native Russian word (hence, a Slavic word), when in fact it is probably a loan from Tatar. Alexander 007 19:44, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

cuisine

surely the latest additions are not Russian words in current use in the English language? Not in the same general peoples awareness like "samovar"GraemeLeggett 17:43, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

I'm also very suspicious of the latest additions. Such words are only known to people familiar with Russian cuisine, not in the general English language or in general English dictionaries AFAIK. The edits should be reverted. Alexander 007 17:46, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

We have articles in wikipedia. I find this fact on par with "general English dictionaries" (this was the goal of the wikipedia project AFAIK).

Also, the article says: Most of them are used to denote things and notions specific to Russia, Russian culture, politics, history. mikka (t) 19:01, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

Well, that seems ok. But most English-speakers have no idea what those words refer to, nor will you find them in most English dictionaries. Alexander 007 19:06, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

Borscht - This is Ukrainean, I believe, but it seems to have come into English via Russian. 136.36.180.215 (talk) 13:49, 30 May 2024 (UTC)

Yiddish

Should we perhaps mention somewhere that a lot of Russian words came into English through Yiddish? Especially in American English. Dan Carkner 23:08, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

Yes, we should. Alexander 007 23:15, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

Capitalized

I have capitalized each word as per the general convention in a dictionary entry. --Bhadani 13:13, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

Parka?

I noticed that "parka" is credited in both this article and the List_of_English_words_of_Native_American_origin. The information on Wikipedia seems to support North American more than Russian, but I don't know that much about it.--Kento 03:13, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

Mammoth

How it is Russian borrowing as in Russian it is "mamont"?--Dojarca 20:28, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

See corruption (linguistics). `'Míkka 01:23, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Loved this page, was a great help!!!

I do like this Wikipedia page, loved the words! I am currently studying for a spelling bee and need extra sources, especially on studying languages. It was a pretty good source!!! I have not seen so many spellings of tsar, though. The only variant I have seen is tzar. Why are there so many variants to the Russian spellings? I am wondering why you list some of which spelling lists from anywhere else wouldn't use...

15zhongk (talk) 01:37, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

In the case of the word tsar, the reason is actually pretty basic in this case, essentially the similarity between the sound of "s" and "z". Good dictionaries will list at least the three most common variations, czar, tsar, and tzar. All technically are correct spellings of the word. In the United States, however, only the spelling "czar" is used when describing someone in contemporary times who has a position of leadership or power, especially in a government agency, e.g. "The Nation's drug czar." When the word is used in a historical sense, I have noticed the spellings tsar and czar used the most, with tzar used less frequently, and zar rarely.

Remember the Russian words are from the Cyrillic alphabet, so the Russian words you see in are transliterations into English of the Russian word. A few of these Russian words may have their own variant spellings, and the transliteration reflects this, or it can be just the transliteration variations itself. --WordsExpert (talk) 21:27, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

tzar, tsar, czar, zar. Explanation

Czar is the right way to say it in English. Tzar is the right way to say it in Russian. Tsar and zar are just made up. There is no such word as czar in Russian. If you really translate the meaning a Tzar is a King a Tzarstvo (Russian Word) is a Kingdom. A Tzaritza (Russian Word) is a Queen but unfortunately in English King and Queen are both konwn as a Czar. Rusf (talk) 16:01, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

Laika

isn't an English word, she was a dog. Nor are Belomorkanal or the official names of government departments, space programmes etc. Can anyone provide dictionary citations for these? or for 'preved'? Koromislo1 (talk) 17:41, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

• Second that. The list needs a thorough cleanup of personal, geographic names, trademarks etc. And a special attention to Yiddish, Turkic and common Slavic roots that are not exclusively Russian. NVO (talk) 17:59, 30 March 2009 (UTC)
  • Ha, four years later and it's not done! I just noticed it and wanted to see what others thought ;) Malick78 (talk) 22:17, 10 August 2013 (UTC)

Vodka

Vodka is not diminutuve for water, diminutive for water is 'vodichka'. Vodka refers to a chemical term of 19th century describing a substance diluted with water. From then on it became associated with diluted ethanol. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.71.106.171 (talk) 23:26, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

Wasn't it actually go from Polish to Russian and then English? Perhaps the dimunitive aspect is from Polish. — Ƶ§œš¹ _{[aɪm ˈfɻɛ̃ⁿdˡi]} 23:49, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

Topor axe

The article states that the first word borrowed into English from Russian was "topor axe", mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon chronicles.

However, the passage in question is about King Canute the Great, who was half Polish, the grandson of King Mieszko, and the nephew of King Boleslaw. It is much more likely that the word is from Polish, then, than it is from Russian.

No source is given supporting the claim that the word is actually Russian. Removed the passage sentence as unsourced.

Second problem was "tschotshcke", which, as the article correctly states is from Yiddish, and originally from Polish. Why would it then be considered as borrowed from Russian? Removed the passage as self-contradictory. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dominus Vobisdu (talk • contribs) 14:04, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

Everything is right in this page

All the words in this list are from Russian origin. Remember: Russian Language is a part of Slavic Languages. So almost all the words in other Slavic languages are in some close form in Russian and words that are in Russian language are in some form close to Slavic Languages. Slavic is not a language it is just a group of similar languages like Russian (The one with the most speakers), Ukrainian, Belorussian, Bulgarian, etc. Ukrainian is very closely related to Russian even Russian and Ukrainian people understand each other without any problems. Just minor words are different, mostly it is just different pronunciations of vowels. Even the alphabet is the almost the same 1-3 letters are different (I don't remember all the way). Polish came from Russian and Slavic mostly. So a lot of words in Polish are also in Russian. Topor is a Russian word meaning ax. the Anglo-Saxons borrowed it from the Russians a long time ago during their trade for some years until one of the Russian's rulers died. A lot of the words mentioned in these discussion are from Russian. Russian has more ways to pronounce words than English or almost any other languages, except Slavic languages because they are the same in many ways including this one. You can call a car Mashina, Mashinka, Mashinochka. In English you can only call a car a car. There are many words in Russian that other languages don't even have, like premydrost, mydrost is wisdom, premydrost is higher class of wisdom. Other languages don't even have words like that. With these features in the language, Russian and other Slavic languages are one of the hardest languages to learn in the world. Rusf (talk) 16:02, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

Cossacks and Kazakhs

Russian word "казак" is translated to English as "cossack". The word "kazakh" in Russian is written as "казах". These are two different words with different meanings. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.134.35.216 (talk) 21:40, 24 October 2011 (UTC)

Listify decision at CfD

The following list of word were contained in Category:Russian loanwords which was deleted in favor of adding them to this list. The discussion was from January and this still was not done. So the contents are being listed here so that those who are familiar with the way the list is set up can add the ones that are not already there. I checked some and they were not in the list.

Aerosani, Afghanka, Alkonost, Antonovka, Artel, Ataman, Bannik, Bogatyr, Borzoi, Boyar, Budenovka, Buran (wind), Cheburashka, Domra, Drioma, Droshky, Dvinia, Fenya, Fortochka, Garmon, Gavreau, Golomyanka, Gopnik, Gorodki, Gosplan, Guberniya, Gusli, Gzhel, Hucho taimen, Indrik, Inorodtsy, Inostrancevia, Kapustnik, Katyusha rocket launcher, Kazakhstania, Khokhloma, Khorovod, Khozyain, Kikimora, Kokoshnik, Kokoshnik (architecture), Kolkhoz, Kolobok, Kosovorotka, Kotlassia, Krushcheby, Kulich, Laika (dog breed), Lapta (game), Lubok, Maslenitsa, Naukograd, Oblast, Okolnichy, Omul, Ossetra, Ostrog (fortress), Ovinnik, Paskha (dish), Pernach, Petrushka, Pirozhki, Pobedit, Podpolkovnik, Podruchnik, Podstakannik, Posad, Posadnik, Poshlost, Poustinia, Prospekt (street), Rabfak, Raion, Raskol, Rassolnik, Runet (terminology), Samosely, Sarafan, Shishiga, Smerd, Sobornost, Solyanka, Sotnik, Sovnya, Soyuz, Stanitsa, Steppe, Stilyagi, Subbotnik, Sushki, Svirel, Syrniki, Talik, Tarantass, Technicum, Telega, Telnyashka, Telogreika, Treshchotka, Tsaritsa, Tubeteika, Udarnik, Ukha, Ushkuiniks, Uyezd, Valenki, Veche, Venyukovia, Volost, Vostok, Yorsh, Zapoy, Zastruga, Zhaleika

Thanks. Vegaswikian (talk) 21:12, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

Sections

I propose to move some words like 'sputnik' and 'cosmonaut' from the common list to some other category, possibly new. In English, they refer exclusively to the Soviet/Russian space program. In that sense, they are not common as are the words 'mammoth' and 'babushka'. On the other hand, the Cuisine and Political and possibly other sections mix words that are fairly obscure in the English-speaking world and are only used in Russian context, such as 'coulibiac', 'glasnost' and even 'DOSAAF' (!) with common words like 'tsar '(which is often used not to refer to a Russian monarch but to describe a ruthless ruler etc., often ironically) and 'vodka'. Sergivs-en (talk) 05:29, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

This is exactly what I was expecting to see in this entry: words of Russian origin in common English usage not connected with Russia: Tsar, Mammoth, samizdat, etc. Although 'Babushka' is pretty common, I only ever see it used in connection with Russian grannies. Similarly, a samovar is a very Russian thing, so I wouldn't include it in a list of borrowings. Perhaps it's reasonable to have a section for generally understood but still very Ruso-specific terms, but I"m not sure how useful that would be. SleekWeasel (talk) 11:28, 18 November 2015 (UTC)

and...

~Yurt, a particular kind of portable housing typical of Mongolia; probably from Mongolian /gehr/.

~ -nik is not explained.

~ A blin (pl. blini) or blintchik (pl. blintchiki) is a type of thin pancakes which typically lacks a leavening agent.

~ borscht? This soup is Ukrainian, but maybe the word entered English from Russian.

~ kasha - In English: buckwheat groats, but in Russian cereal grains in general. Kdammers (talk) 20:45, 11 October 2015 (UTC)

Okhran(k)a

The article states "Okhrana in full The Okhrannoye otdeleniye".

Should be "Okhranka" actually, the suffix -k is common for such abbreviations (Elektrichka is an example, short for "Elektricheskiy poyezd", "electrical train"). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:A31A:E040:B300:8256:F2FF:FEEA:39CB (talk) 00:58, 18 January 2017 (UTC)