Etymologically
Log in

Bolshevik

Etymology and origin of the English word Bolshevik

History Permalink

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈbɒlʃəvɪk/ (UK); /ˈboʊlʃəvɪk/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Russian большевик (bolʹševik),[2][3][4][5][6] from bolʹše “greater, more”, the comparative of bolʹšoj “big”,[2][3][4][5][6] and the noun suffix -evik.[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A member of the radical wing of the Russian Social Democratic Party (1907 as an adjective in the OED; 1917 as a noun).[7][2][3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

The name was given to the faction in the majority at the second congress of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party in 1903, which sided with Lenin;[2][3][4] the smaller faction were the Mensheviks, from menʹše “less”.[2][4] After the Bolsheviks seized power in November 1917 and became the Communist Party, the name was applied to communists generally (1918),[3][4][2] and then loosely to any extreme radical or opponent of the existing order (1926).[7][3][4] The slang bolshie “rebellious” comes from it.[2]

Timeline

  • 1903 – the split in the Russian Social Democratic Party.[2][4]
  • 1907 – first recorded in English (AHD, OED).[2][7]
  • 1917 – a Russian revolutionary.[3][4][5]
  • 1918 – a communist.[3]
  • 1926 – an extreme radical.[7][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A member of the left-wing majority faction of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party, led by Lenin, which seized power in Russia in November 1917.
  2. A member of a Communist party; a communist.
  3. (derogatory) An extreme political radical.

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to the Bolsheviks.

Word family

  • bolshevize
  • Bolshevism
  • Menshevik
  • bolshie
  • Bolshoi
  • communist

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Bolshevik.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/Bolshevik. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·