| 1. | a member of the main stock of the Russian people, dwelling chiefly in the northern or central parts of the Russian Federation in Europe. |
| 2. | the Russian language, excluding Ukrainian and Byelorussian. |
| Great Russian n. A Russian. Used formerly in distinguishing ethnic Russians from other constituent peoples of the Soviet Union or the Russian Empire. [Translation of Russian Velikorusskiĭ : velikiĭ, great + russkiĭ, Russian.] |