russe French · revision 17063

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=back-formation|attested=1671, Pierre Martin de La Martinière (the language)|origins=orv Русь}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʁys/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''russe''' (plural russes)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a back-formation from the country name [[Russie]], the name of the empire of the tsars; it replaced the older [[moscovite]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) “Russie” was taken from [[ru|Россия|tr=Rossija]], from the Slavic name [[orv|Русь|tr=Rusĭ]], which appears in Byzantine Greek as [[grc|Ῥῶς|tr=Rhôs]] in 839.^(DHLF 1992) The Slavic name is probably a Slavicized Old Norse word, connected with [[non|róðr|t=rowing]] and applied to the Varangians.^(DHLF 1992) Medieval Latin used “Moscovitae” and “Rutheni”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==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'').^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF)

+

+ ==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''.^(TLFi) 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.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ Slang made the familiar but not pejorative ''russkof'' with a pseudo-Russian suffix.^(DHLF 1992) Derivatives include [[russifier]] (1815, Joseph de Maistre), ''russophile'' (1854) and ''russophone''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1671 – ''Le Russe'', the language.^(TLFi)

+ * 1715 – The adjective, ''une femme russe''.^(TLFi)^(BHVF)

+ * before 1732 – A Russian person, Fleury.^(TLFi)

+ * 1763 – ''L'armée russe'', Voltaire.^(TLFi)

+ * 1816 – ''Montagne russe''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1922 – ''Russe blanc'', Giraudoux.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|Russian]], of Russia: ''la révolution russe'', ''la littérature russe''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # In set phrases: ''montagnes russes'' (a [[m|en|roller coaster]]), ''roulette russe'', ''salade russe'', ''poupées russes''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''À la russe'': in the Russian manner, ''boire à la russe'', to drain one's glass and throw it over one's shoulder.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(capitalized)'' A Russian person: ''un Russe blanc'', an émigré after 1917.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(masculine)'' The Russian language.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[russifier]]

+ * [[russophile]]

+ * [[russophone]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Russie]]

+ * [[moscovite]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}