# 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: /ˈɹʌʃ(ə)n/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -ʌʃən

### Adjective

Russian (comparative more Russian, superlative most Russian)
* 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.
* (dated) Of or pertaining to the Soviet Union.
* (dated) Of or pertaining to Rus.
* Of or pertaining to the Russian language.

#### Synonyms

* Muscovite
* (of or pertaining to the Soviet Union): Soviet

#### Derived terms

* Black Russian
* Black Russian Terrier
* Blue Russian
* dwarf Russian almond
* Four-Russians
* Great Russian
* Little Russian
* New Russian
* non-Russian
* piss like a Russian racehorse
* Red Russian kale
* RuSSian
* Russian almond
* Russian backgammon
* Russian bagatelle
* Russian ball
* Russian bank
* Russian Bank
* Russian Banker
* Russian bar
* Russian bath
* Russian billiards
* Russian black bread
* Russian blouse
* Russian Blue
* Russian blue
* Russian blue potato
* Russian boot
* Russian braid
* Russian cedar
* Russian chess
* Russian cigarette
* Russian comfrey
* Russian copulation
* Russian crash
* Russian cubit
* Russian cypress
* Russian dandelion
* Russian deal
* Russian desman
* Russian diaper
* Russian dinner
* Russian dip
* Russian doll
* Russian dressing
* Russian eagle
* Russian Easter bread
* Russian Easter egg
* Russian egg
* Russian elm
* Russian embroidery
* Russian encephalitis
* Russian Federation
* Russian flu
* Russian formalism
* Russian Game
* Russian gauge
* Russian gold
* Russian Hill
* Russian iron
* Russianisation
* Russianise
* Russianism
* Russianization
* Russianize
* Russian kale
* Russian knapweed
* Russian larch
* Russian longhair
* Russian Manchooria
* Russian Manchuria
* Russian mulberry
* Russian novel effect
* Russian olive
* Russian Orthodox Church
* Russian oven
* Russian peasant multiplication
* Russian pyramid
* Russian reversal
* Russian Revolution
* Russian River
* Russian roulette
* Russian sable
* Russian sage
* Russian salad
* Russian scandal
* Russian Sign Language
* Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
* Russian-speaking
* Russian spring–summer encephalitis
* Russian steamroller
* Russian stitch
* Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii)
* Russian swing
* Russian tea
* Russian thistle
* Russian Toy
* Russian Tsvetnaya Bolonka
* Russian twist
* Russian vine
* Russian violet
* Russian wheat aphid
* Russian White House
* Russian Wolfhound
* Russian world
* Russian wormwood
* Ruzzian
* Ruᛋᛋian
* Ukraino-Russian
* Ukro-Russian
* White Russian
* winter white Russian hamster

#### Related terms

* derussify
* Russ
* Russify
* Russo-

#### Descendants

* → Chinese: 羅宋 / 罗宋 (luósòng)
* → Ukrainian: ра́шн (rášn)

#### Translations
### Noun

Russian (countable and uncountable, plural Russians)
* (countable) A citizen of Russia.
** 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.
* (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.
* (countable, obsolete) A person from the Soviet Union.
* (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, 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.$^{196}$
* A domestic cat breed.
* A cat of this breed.
* (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 been juggling bags and then start juggling Russians, they feel sooo lopsided to juggle at first!
* (MLE, slang) Someone from or around Brandon Estate (also known as Moscow).
* (MLE, slang) A gun (due to some preference for Russian arms with gang members).
* (South Africa) A kind of sausage.

### Verb

Russian (third-person singular simple present Russians, present participle Russianing, simple past and past participle Russianed)
* (transitive, obsolete) To compel or force someone as a result of Russian influence or pressure.

#### Synonyms

* (person): Muscovite (archaic), Russ
* (language): Russ

#### See also

* Russian (cat) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
* Wiktionary’s coverage of Russian terms

#### Further reading

* ISO 639-1 code ru, ISO 639-3 code rus (SIL)
* Ethnologue entry for Russian, rus ⁠

### See also

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