# Rus
## English
### Alternative forms

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

### Etymology

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.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɹuːs/, /ɹʌs/
* Rhymes: -uːs, -ʌs

### Proper noun

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

#### Usage notes

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.

#### Synonyms

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

#### Derived terms

* Rusian, Rus'ian (rare)
* White Rus

#### Related terms

* Belarus, Belarusian
* Little Russia, Little Russian
* Rusnak, Rusniak
* Russia, Russian
* Belarus, Belarusian, Bielorussia, Bielorussian
* Rusyn
* Ruthenia, Ruthene, Ruthenian

#### Translations
### Noun

Rus (plural Rus)
* 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.

### References

* 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.

### Anagrams

* usr, SRU, urs, URs, Sur., sur-, RSU

## Afrikaans
### Noun

Rus (plural Russe, diminutive Russie)
* Russian (person from Russia or of Russian descent)

#### Related terms

* Rusland
* Russies

## Central Franconian
### Etymology

From Old High German rōsa, from Latin rosa.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ʀuːs/

### Noun

Rus f (plural Ruse, diminutive Rüsje or Riesche)
* (most dialects) rose

#### Usage notes

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

## Czech
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈrus]

### Etymology 1

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

#### Noun

Rus m anim (female equivalent Ruska)
* Russian (person)
    Synonym: (colloquial) Rusák

##### Related terms

* Ruska
* Rusko
* ruský
* ruština

### Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Czech Rus.

#### Proper noun

Rus f
* (literary) Russia
    mátuška Rus ― Mother Russia
* (historical) Rus
    Kyjevská Rus ― Kievan Rus

##### Declension
### Further reading

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

### Proper noun

Rus m anim (female equivalent Rusová)
* a male surname

#### Declension
### Further reading

* “Rus”, in Příjmení.cz (in Czech)

## Dutch
### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ʏs
* IPA: /rʏs/

### Noun

Rus m (plural Russen, diminutive Rusje n, feminine Russin)
* Russian
* (Bargoens) detective

#### Derived terms

* de Russen zijn in het land
* Rusland
* russificeren
* Russisch
* russofiel
* russofoob
* Witrus

## Polish
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈrus/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -us
* Syllabification: Rus

### Proper noun

Rus m pers
* a male surname

#### Declension
### Proper noun

Rus f (indeclinable)
* a female surname

### Further reading

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

## Romanian
### Etymology

From rus.

### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Proper noun

Rus m
* A village in Dumbrăvița, Maramureș, Romania
* A commune of Sălaj, Romania
* A village in Rus, Sălaj, Romania

## Serbo-Croatian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /rûs/

### Proper noun

Rȕs m (Cyrillic spelling Ру̏с)
* Russian (male person)

#### Declension
### Further reading

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

## Slovak
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [rus]

### Noun

Rus m pers (female equivalent Ruska)
* Russian (person)

#### Declension
### Proper noun

Rus m pers (female equivalent Rusová)
* a male surname originating as an ethnonym

#### Declension
### References

* “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

### Further reading

* Rusko
* ruský
* rusky
* ruština

## Slovene
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /rúːs/

### Noun

Rȗs m anim (female equivalent Rúsinja)
* Russian (male person)

#### Related terms

* Rúsija
* rúski
* rúščina

### Further reading

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

## Turkish
### Noun

Rus
* A Russian person (nationality)