Etymologically
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soviet

Etymology and origin of the English word soviet

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1917
Borrowed from
Russian совет
Ultimate origin
Russian (совет)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈsəʊ.vi.ət/, /ˈsɒv.i.ət/, US /ˈsoʊ.vi.et/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Russian совет (sovét, “council”),[2][3][4] from Old East Slavic съвѣтъ (sŭvětŭ, “council, assembly”),[3][4] from sŭ “with, together” and větŭ “counsel, agreement”.[2][3] The Slavic word is a loan translation of Greek symboúlion “council of advisers”.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An elected council forming a unit of government in socialist Russia: 1917 in Barnhart, Etymonline, the OED and MWU.[3][2][5][4]

Semantic evolution

The word entered English with the Russian Revolution of 1917.[2][5] By 1918 it was used of similar councils in other countries,[5] and the adjective, of government by soviets, is from 1918.[3][2] From 1920 the Soviets meant the government or people of the Soviet Union, and the adjective meant “of the Soviet Union”.[3][2][5] Since the end of the Soviet Union in 1991 the word has been mostly historical.[6]

Timeline

  • 1917 – an elected council in Russia.[3][5]
  • 1918 – adjective; councils in other countries.[3][5]
  • 1920 – the people or government of the Soviet Union.[3][5]
  • 1939 – Soviet-German and similar compounds.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (historical) An elected council in the former Soviet Union, at local, regional or national level.
  2. (historical) A similar revolutionary council elsewhere.
  3. (usually Soviets) The people or government of the former Soviet Union.

Adjective

  1. (usually Soviet) Of or relating to the former Soviet Union.
  2. Of or relating to a soviet.

Word family

  • sovietism
  • anti-Soviet

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Soviet.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/soviet. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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