page_title: Borzoi
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Borzoi / Description
caption_attribution_description: author: Pleple2000
context_page_description: The Borzoi, also called the Russian wolfhound, is a breed of domestic dog. They are descended from the sighthound working dogs of people who migrated from Central Asian countries to Russia prior to the 17th century. They are similar in shape to Greyhounds.
  The system by which Russians over the ages named their sighthounds was a series of descriptive terms, not actual names. Borzói is the masculine singular form of an archaic Russian adjective that means "fast". Borzáya sobáka is the basic term used by Russians, though sobáka is usually dropped. The name psovaya derived from the word psovina, which means "wavy, silky coat", just as hortaya means shorthaired. In modern Russian, the breed commonly called the Borzoi is officially known as russkaya psovaya borzaya. Other Russian sighthound breeds are stepnaya borzaya, called stepnoi; and krimskaya borzaya, called krimskoi.
  The most commonly used plural form is the regular formation Borzois, which is the only plural cited in most dictionaries. However, the Borzoi Club of America and the Borzoi Club UK both prefer Borzoi as the form for both singular and plural forms.
caption: Borzoi, red coat
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