Etymologically
Log in

russe

Etymology and origin of the French word russe

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
1671, Pierre Martin de La Martinière (the language)
Ultimate origin
Old East Slavic (Русь)

Pronunciation

Forms

russe (plural russes)[1]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from the country name Russie, the name of the empire of the tsars; it replaced the older moscovite.[2][3][4] “Russie” was taken from Russian Россия (Rossija), from the Slavic name Old East Slavic Русь (Rusĭ), which appears in Byzantine Greek as Ancient Greek Ῥῶς (Rhôs) in 839.[3] The Slavic name is probably a Slavicized Old Norse word, connected with Old Norse róðr (“rowing”) and applied to the Varangians.[3] Medieval Latin used “Moscovitae” and “Rutheni”.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pierre Martin de La Martinière's account of a voyage to the northern countries (1671) uses le Russe for the language; the adjective is found in 1715 (une femme russe).[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

As a noun for a person it appears before 1732 in Fleury, and Voltaire's Histoire de la Russie (1763) speaks of l'armée russe and l'Église russe.[2] The word entered many set phrases: montagnes russes “roller coaster” (1816), à la russe (1822), lapin russe (1910), lévrier russe (1911) and roulette russe, as well as Russe blanc (1922), an émigré after the Revolution.[2][3][6]

Slang made the familiar but not pejorative russkof with a pseudo-Russian suffix.[3] Derivatives include russifier (1815, Joseph de Maistre), russophile (1854) and russophone.[3]

Timeline

  • 1671 – Le Russe, the language.[2]
  • 1715 – The adjective, une femme russe.[2][5]
  • before 1732 – A Russian person, Fleury.[2]
  • 1763 – L'armée russe, Voltaire.[2]
  • 1816 – Montagne russe.[2]
  • 1922 – Russe blanc, Giraudoux.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Russian, of Russia: la révolution russe, la littérature russe.[6][1]
  2. In set phrases: montagnes russes (a roller coaster), roulette russe, salade russe, poupées russes.[6][3]
  3. À la russe: in the Russian manner, boire à la russe, to drain one's glass and throw it over one's shoulder.[6]

Noun

  1. (capitalized) A Russian person: un Russe blanc, an émigré after 1917.[6][1]
  2. (masculine) The Russian language.[6][1]

Word family

  • russifier
  • russophile
  • russophone
  • Russie
  • moscovite

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  6. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Russe.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/russe. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·