russian

russian — adjective

1. used to describe anything that comes from Russia or is related to the country —

1.adjectiveA1
Definition

used to describe anything that comes from Russia or is related to the country — such as its food, books, language, or the people who live there.

Example

Obi ordered a bowl of hot Russian borscht at the food market.

Russian + food noun — cuisine collocation

Layla's favourite Russian author is Anton Chekhov, whose stories she reads every winter.

Russian + author / cultural figure noun

Common collocations
  • Russian cuisine
  • Russian literature
  • Russian culture
  • Russian language
  • Russian history
  • Russian government
  • Russian people
  • Russian flag
  • Russian Orthodox
  • Russian music
  • Russian folk dance
  • Russian winter
  • Russian architecture
  • Russian embassy
  • Russian oil
  • Russian military
  • Russian revolution
  • Russian empire

Grammar Patterns

Russian + noun

Usage Note

Always capitalise the first letter — 'Russian', never 'russian' — even when it appears in the middle of a sentence. This rule applies to all words derived from country names.

Common Mistakes

I am learning russian at school.
I am learning Russian at school.
Names of languages and nationalities must begin with a capital letter in English.
She bought a Russian's doll from the shop.
She bought a Russian doll from the shop.
When 'Russian' works as an adjective describing the type of doll, do not add the possessive '-s'.

russian — noun

Word family

  • Russia
    proper nounA1
  • Russify
    verbC2
  • Russification
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Russian' refers broadly to anything connected with Russia as a country, its people, or its language — it is the only common word used today. 'Soviet' refers specifically to the former Soviet Union (1922–1991), which included Russia along with many other republics such as Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Georgia. Calling a 1980s Ukrainian ballet 'Russian' would be inaccurate because Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union but is not Russia. 'Muscovite' is a rare, historical term that refers only to the city of Moscow or the medieval Grand Duchy of Moscow (Muscovy). A learner will almost never need 'Muscovite' outside of history books. Use 'Russian' for modern cultural, political, and linguistic references. Use 'Soviet' only when talking about the USSR era.

Russian ↗Soviet ↗Muscovite

Common collocations

Nouns

  • Russian speaker
  • Russian teacher
  • Russian learner
  • Russian history
  • Russian culture
  • Russian literature

Phrases

  • of Russian origin
  • by a Russian author
  • with a Russian accent
  • the Russian way

Prepositions

  • from Russia
  • in Russian
  • into Russian

Etymology

Old East SlavicLatinFrenchEnglish

'Russian' comes from 'Russia', the English name for the country. 'Russia' entered English through Latin from Old East Slavic 'Rus', the name of a medieval state centred on Kyiv (often called Kyivan Rus). The suffix '-ian' (from Latin '-ianus') means 'belonging to' or 'from'. Before the 16th century, English speakers used 'Russe' (borrowed from French) or 'Ruthenian' (from Latin). The modern form 'Russian' became standard in the 17th and 18th centuries.