Russian

How to spell russian

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce russian

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does russian mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to Russia, its people, language, or culture.
2. nounA person from Russia, or the language spoken there.

Russian in a sentence

• adjective

  The menu featured a traditional russian beetroot soup.

• noun

  His grandfather was a russian who emigrated before the war.

• adjective

  She signed up for an evening course in russian grammar.

• noun

  After two years of study she could read russian fairly well.

Where does russian come from?

Language of origin: Other

This word comes from Russia, the name of the country, which traces back to the medieval Rus', a people whose name was probably carried by Scandinavian traders and settlers who moved along the eastern river routes; one widely held view links Rus' to an Old Norse root meaning 'the men who row', the same sense behind words for rowing crews. The Slavic and Greek forms of the name passed into medieval Latin as Russia, and English added the familiar suffix -ian, meaning 'belonging to' or 'characteristic of', to make the adjective and the name of the people. English has used the form since roughly the 1530s, when contact with Muscovy grew through trade and diplomacy. The spelling keeps a double s, which is the main trap, because a single s would suggest a softer, z-like sound rather than the sharp hiss the name actually has. The same -ian pattern appears in many nationality words such as Italian and Canadian, which helps fix the ending in memory.

How the word is built

• russ- (from Rus', the medieval people and land)
• -ian (adjective/noun suffix meaning 'belonging to')