Russian

[ ruhsh-uhn ]

adjective
  1. of or relating to Russia, its people, or their language.

noun
  1. a native or inhabitant of Russia.

  2. a member of a Slavic people, the dominant ethnic group in the Russian Federation, whose historical homeland lies along the upper Volga and Oka rivers and adjacent areas.

  1. the Slavic language of this people, written in the Cyrillic alphabet: the official language of Russia or the Russian Federation. Abbreviations: Russ, Russ.

  2. Informal. Russian dressing.

Origin of Russian

1
First recorded in 1530–40; from Medieval Latin Russiānus, derivative of Russia, Latinization of Old East Slavic Rusĭ; see origin at Russ, Russia, -an

Other words from Russian

  • anti-Russian, adjective, noun
  • half-Russian, adjective
  • non-Russian, adjective, noun
  • pro-Russian, adjective, noun
  • pseudo-Russian, adjective, noun
  • semi-Russian, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for Russian

Russian

/ (ˈrʌʃən) /


noun
  1. the official language of Russia: an Indo-European language belonging to the East Slavonic branch

  2. the official language of the former Soviet Union

  1. a native or inhabitant of Russia

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Russia, its people, or their language

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012