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noun
1.
a clandestine publishing system within the Soviet Union, by which forbidden or unpublishable literature was reproduced and circulated privately.
2.
a work or periodical circulated by this system.
Origin:
1965–70; < Russian samizdát, equivalent to sam(o)- self- + izdát(el'stvo) publishing agency; coined as a jocular allusion to the compound names of official Soviet publishing organs, e.g., Gosizdát for Gosudárstvennoe izdátel'stvo State Publishing House
1965–70; < Russian samizdát, equivalent to sam(o)- self- + izdát(el'stvo) publishing agency; coined as a jocular allusion to the compound names of official Soviet publishing organs, e.g., Gosizdát for Gosudárstvennoe izdátel'stvo State Publishing House
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Samizdat
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Collins
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
samizdat
"illegal and clandestine copying and sharing of literature," 1967, from Rus. samizdat, lit. "self-publishing," from sam "self" + izdatel'stvo "publishing," probably a word-play on Gosizdat, the former state publishing house of the U.S.S.R. One who took part in it was a samizdatchik (pl. samizdatchiki).
EXPANDCOLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
samizdat definition
publication(Russian, literally "self publishing") The process of disseminating documentation via underground channels. Originally referred to photocopy duplication and distribution of banned books in the former Soviet Union; now refers by obvious extension to any less-than-official promulgation of textual material, especially rare, obsolete, or never-formally-published computer documentation. Samizdat is obviously much easier when one has access to high-bandwidth networks and high-quality laser printers.
Strictly, "samizdat" only applies to distribution of needed documents that are otherwise unavailable, and not to duplication of material that is available for sale under copyright.
See Lions Book for a historical example.
See also: hacker ethic.
[Jargon File]
(2000-03-23)
Word Dynamo Rating For Samizdat
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