Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Nearby Words

Menshevik

 - 3 dictionary results

Men⋅she⋅vik

  [men-shuh-vik; Russ. myin-shi-vyeek]
Use Menshevik in a Sentence
–noun, plural -viks, -vik⋅i  [-vik-ee, -vee-kee; Russ. -vyi-kyee] .
a member of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' party in opposition to the Bolsheviks: advocated gradual development of full socialism through parliamentary government and cooperation with bourgeois parties; absorbed into the Communist party formed in 1918.
Also, men⋅she⋅vik.

Origin:
1905–10; < Russ menʾshevík, equiv. to ménʾsh(iĭ) lesser (comp. of málenʾkiĭ small; cf. menʾshinstvó minority) + -evik, var. of -ovik n. suffix

Related forms:
Men⋅she⋅vism  [men-shuh-viz-uhm] , noun
Men⋅she⋅vist, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Menshevik
Men·she·vik   (měn'shə-vĭk)   
n.   pl. Men·she·viks or Men·she·vi·ki (-vē'kē)
A member of the liberal faction of the Social Democratic Party that struggled against the Bolsheviks before and during the Russian Revolution.

[Russian men'shevik, from men'she, less (from their relegation by Lenin to minority status); see mei-2 in Indo-European roots.]
Men'she·vism n., Men'she·vist n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

menshevik 
1917, from Rus. men'shevik, from men'she "lesser" (comp. of malo "little," from PIE base *men- "to lessen, diminish") + -evik "one that is." So called by Lenin because they were a minority in the party. Earlier used in ref. to the minority faction of the Social-Democratic Party, when it split in 1903. Russian pl. mensheviki occasionally was used in Eng.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Menshevik on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way