English words from Russian
5 English words with Russian in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages.
Bolshevik
It is borrowed from Russian большевик (bolʹševik), from bolʹše “greater, more”, the comparative of bolʹšoj “big”, and the noun suffix -evik.
czar
It is borrowed from Russian царь (tsarʹ), from Old East Slavic цѣсарь (cěsarĭ, “emperor, king”), from Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐌹𐍃𐌰𐍂 (kaisar), from Greek kaîsar, from Latin Caesar. Barnhart says it came through…
mammoth
It is borrowed from Russian мамот (mamot) (now mamont), first used of the remains of the animal found in Siberia. The Russian word probably comes from a Finno-Ugric language, Ostyak, though the…
soviet
It is borrowed from Russian совет (sovét, “council”), from Old East Slavic съвѣтъ (sŭvětŭ, “council, assembly”), from sŭ “with, together” and větŭ “counsel, agreement”. The Slavic word is a loan…
sputnik
It is borrowed from Russian спутник (sputnik, “satellite; travelling companion”), short for sputnik zemli “fellow traveller of the earth”, from s- “together, with”, put' “way, path” and the agent…