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boyar

 - 3 dictionary results

bo⋅yar

  [boh-yahr, boi-er]
Use boyar in a Sentence
–noun
1. Russian History. a member of the old nobility of Russia, before Peter the Great made rank dependent on state service.
2. a member of a former privileged class in Romania.
Also, bo⋅yard  [boh-yahrd, boi-erd] .

Origin:
1585–95; earlier boiaren < Russ boyárin, akin to OCS bolyarinŭ (translating Gk megistán man of high status), Bulg bolyár(in); of disputed orig.

Related forms:
bo⋅yar⋅ism, bo⋅yard⋅ism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To boyar
bo·yar   (bō-yär', boi'ər)   
n.  A member of a class of higher Russian nobility that until the time of Peter I headed the civil and military administration of the country and participated in an early duma.

[From boiaren, from Russian boyarin, from Old Russian boljarin, from Turkic baylar, pl. of bay, rich, Turkish bay, rich, gentleman.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

boyar 
1591, "member of a Rus. aristocratic class (abolished by Peter the Great)," from Rus. boyarin, perhaps from boji "struggle," or from O.Slav. root bol- "great."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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