Bolshevik English · revision 843

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbɒlʃəvɪk/ ''(UK)''; /ˈboʊlʃəvɪk/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|ru|большевик|tr=bolʹševik]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''bolʹše'' “greater, more”, the comparative of ''bolʹšoj'' “big”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) and the noun suffix ''-evik''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==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).^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==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;^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) the smaller faction were the [[Menshevik|alt=Mensheviks]], from ''menʹše'' “less”.^(AHD)^(Etymonline) After the Bolsheviks seized power in November 1917 and became the Communist Party, the name was applied to communists generally (1918),^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(AHD) and then loosely to any extreme radical or opponent of the existing order (1926).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The slang ''bolshie'' “rebellious” comes from it.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1903 – the split in the Russian Social Democratic Party.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1907 – first recorded in English (AHD, OED).^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1917 – a Russian revolutionary.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1918 – a communist.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1926 – an extreme radical.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # 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.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A member of a Communist party; a communist.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(derogatory)'' An extreme political radical.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or relating to the Bolsheviks.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bolshevize]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Bolshevism]]

+ * [[Menshevik]]

+ * [[bolshie]]

+ * [[Bolshoi]]

+ * [[communist]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}