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samizdat

 - 4 dictionary results

sam⋅iz⋅dat

  [sah-miz-daht; Russ. suh-myiz-daht]
Use samizdat in a Sentence
–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; < Russ samizdát, equiv. 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. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To samizdat
sa·miz·dat   (sä'mĭz-dät', sə-myĭz-dät')   
n.  

    1. The secret publication and distribution of government-banned literature in the former Soviet Union.

    2. The literature produced by this system.

  2. An underground press.


[Russian : sam, self; see sem-1 in Indo-European roots + izdatel'stvo, publishing house (from izdat', to publish, on the model of Gosizdat, State Publishing House : iz, from, out of; see eghs in Indo-European roots + dat', to give; see dō- in Indo-European roots).]
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

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).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Computing Dictionary

samizdat 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.
[The Jargon File]
(2000-03-23)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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