List of English words of Ukrainian origin

Last updated

English words of Ukrainian origin are words in the English language that have been borrowed or derived from the Ukrainian language. Some of them may have entered English via Russian, Polish, or Yiddish, among others. They may have originated in another languages, but are used to describe notions related to Ukraine.[ citation needed ] Some are regionalisms, used in English-speaking places with a significant Ukrainian diaspora population, especially Canada, but all of these have entered the general English vocabulary.

Contents

Some words such as knyaz are traced back to the times of Kievan Rus, and hence claimed both by Russians and Ukrainians, both claiming the Kievan Rus heritage.

babka
Type of sweet Easter bread [Ukrainian ба́бка, related to French baba au rhum ].
bandura
Type of plucked string folk instrument [Ukrainian: банду́ра].
chumak
Historical and traditional wagon-based trading occupation [Ukrainian: чума́к].
gotch
gotchies
gitch
Underwear, Canadian English slang. Also gaunch, gaunchies in Alberta.
hetman
Rank of Cossack military-political leaders [Ukrainian: ге́тьман].
holubtsi
Cabbage rolls, Canadian English [Ukrainian: голубці́, plural from голубе́ць holubets].
hopak
Lively traditional dance [Ukrainian: гопа́к].
horilka
Type of Ukrainian alcoholic beverage [Ukrainian: горілка].
kovbasa
kubasa
Garlic sausage, Canadian English. Also kubie, kubie burger [Ukrainian ковбаса́].
oseledets
Style of haircut associated with Ukrainian cossacks, topknot.
paska
Type of decorated Easter bread, a rich dessert with curd cheese and dried fruit. Also paskha or pashka [Ukrainian: па́ска].
pyrih
Pie with sweet or savoury filling [Ukrainian: пирі́г].
pyrizhky
Small baked or fried bun, stuffed with various fillings [Ukrainian: пиріжки́, plural from пиріжо́к pyrizhok, diminutive from пирі́г pyrih].
pyrohy
Stuffed dumplings or pastry (from western Ukraine, where it is a synonym for varenyky). Also singular perogy [Ukrainian: пироги́, plural from пирі́г pyrih].
pysanka
Decorated Easter egg [Ukrainian: пи́санка].
varenyky
Boiled dumplings with a variety of fillings, such as potatoes, cherries, strawberries, meat, etc. [Ukrainian: варе́ники varenyky, plural from варе́ник varenyk].
vyshyvanka
Traditional embroidered shirt [Ukrainian: вишива́нка].

English words from Ukrainian

Cuisine

Borscht (Ukrainian: борщ borshch), beet soup, also used in the expression "cheap like borscht".

Kasha (Ukrainian: ка́ша), a porridge.

Paska (Ukrainian: па́ска, "Easter" = "paskha"). A rich Ukrainian dessert made with soft cheese, dried fruit, nuts, and spices, traditionally eaten at Easter.

Syrniki , sometimes also sirniki (Ukrainian: си́рники syrnyky, from сир syr, originally soft white cheese in Slavic languages). Fried quark cheese pancakes, garnished with sour cream, jam, honey, or apple sauce.

Ethnic

Boyko or Boiko (Ukrainian: бо́йко), a distinctive group of Ukrainian highlanders or mountain-dwellers of the Carpathian highlands.

Cossack (Ukrainian: коза́к kozak), a freedom-loving horseman of the steppes.

Hutsul (Ukrainian: гуцу́л), an ethno-cultural group who for centuries have inhabited the Carpathian Mountains.

Lemko (Ukrainian: ле́мко), a distinctive group of Ukrainian highlanders or mountain-dwellers of the Carpathian highlands.

Rusyn (Ukrainian: руси́н), an ethnic group of Ukrainians. Old self-name of the Ukrainians

Verkhovynian or Verkhovynets (Ukrainian: верховинець), a distinctive group of Ukrainian highlanders or mountain-dwellers of the Carpathian highlands.

Politic

Banderist (Ukrainian: банде́рівець), a member of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists or of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.

Boyar (Ukrainian: singular боя́рин boiaryn, plural боя́ри boiary), a member of the highest rank of the feudal Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Ukrainian aristocracy, second only to the ruling princes, from the 10th century through the 17th century. Many headed the civil and military administrations in their country.

Rukh (Ukrainian: Рух; movement), a Ukrainian centre-right political party the People's Movement of Ukraine.

Sich (Ukrainian: Січ), the administrative and military centre for Cossacks.

Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian: Верхо́вна Ра́да), Ukraine's parliament, literally Supreme Council, formerly also translated as the Supreme Soviet.

Other

Gley [1] (Ukrainian: глей) - a sticky clay soil or soil layer formed under the surface of some waterlogged soils. Ukrainian gleĭ clayey earth; akin to Old English clǣg clay.

Hryvnia or sometimes hryvnya (Ukrainian: гри́вня), the national currency of Ukraine since 1996.

Hucul or hutsul (Ukrainian: гуцульський кінь, гуцулик or гуцул), a pony or small horse breed originally from the Carpathian Mountains.

Karbovanets (Ukrainian: карбо́ванець), Ukrainian currency in 1917-1920, 1942-1945 and in 1992-1996.

Khorovod (Ukrainian: хорово́д), a Slavic art form consisting of a combination of a circle dance and chorus singing, similar to Chorea of ancient Greece.

Kniaz (Ukrainian: князь knyaz', etymologically related to the English word king from Old English cyning, meaning "tribe", related the German König, and the Scandinavian konung, probably borrowed early from the Proto-Germanic Kuningaz, a form also borrowed by Finnish and Estonian "Kuningas"; the title and functions however of a Kniaz corresponded, though not exact, to more of a Prince or Duke), a title given to members of Ukrainian nobility that arose during the Rurik dynasty.

Kurgan (Ukrainian: курга́н "tumulus"), a type of burial mound found in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Naftohaz or Naftogaz (Ukrainian: Нафтогаз), the national oil and gas company of Ukraine, literally "Oil and gas".

Steppe [2] (Ukrainian: степ) is one of the vast usually level and treeless tracts in southeastern Europe or Asia. The word is likely to come from French, where previously it had been taken from Polish, where it said to be originated from Ukrainian.

Surzhyk (Ukrainian: су́ржик), a mixed (macaronic) sociolects of Ukrainian and Russian languages used in certain regions of Ukraine and adjacent lands.

Tachanka (Ukrainian: тача́нка), a horse-drawn machine gun platform.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierogi</span> Unleavened stuffed pasta of Central and Eastern European origin

Pierogi are filled dumplings made by wrapping unleavened dough around a savory or sweet filling and cooking in boiling water.

<i>Knyaz</i> Template (table) of early Slavic status

Knyaz, kniaz or knez is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, depending on specific historical context and the potentially known Latin equivalents of the title for each bearer of the name. In Latin sources the title is usually translated as princeps, but the word was originally derived from the common Germanic *kuningaz (king).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lemkos</span> East Slavic ethnic group inhabiting parts of South-Eastern Poland and Western Ukraine.

Lemkos are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region of Carpathian Rus', an ethnographic region in the Carpathian Mountains and foothills spanning Ukraine, Slovakia and Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boykos</span> Ethnic group

The Boykos, or simply Highlanders, are an ethnolinguistic sub-group of Rusyns located in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland. Along with the neighboring Lemkos and Hutsuls, the Boykos speak a dialect of the Rusyn language. Within Ukraine, the Boykos and other Rusyns are seen as a sub-group of ethnic Ukrainians. Boykos differ from their neighbors in dialect, dress, folk architecture, and customs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of Russia

Russian cuisine is a collection of the different dishes and cooking traditions of the Russian people as well as a list of culinary products popular in Russia, with most names being known since pre-Soviet times, coming from all kinds of social circles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rusyns</span> Ethnic group that speaks an Eastern Slavic language

Rusyns, also known as Carpatho-Rusyns, or Rusnaks, are an East Slavic ethnic group from the Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn, an East Slavic language variety, treated variously as either a distinct language or a dialect of the Ukrainian language. As traditional adherents of Eastern Christianity, the majority of Rusyns are Eastern Catholics, though a minority of Rusyns still practice Eastern Orthodoxy. Rusyns primarily self-identify as a distinct Slavic people and they are recognized as such in Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia, where they have official minority status. Alternatively, some identify more closely with their country of residence, while others are a branch of the Ukrainian people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hutsuls</span> Ethnic group in the Carpathian Mountains

The Hutsuls are an East Slavic ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and Romania. They have often been officially and administratively designated as a subgroup of Ukrainians and are largely regarded as constituting a broader Ukrainian ethnic group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukrainian cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of Ukraine

Ukrainian cuisine is the collection of the various cooking traditions of the people of Ukraine, one of the largest and most populous European countries. It is heavily influenced by the rich dark soil (chernozem) from which its ingredients come, and often involves many components. Traditional Ukrainian dishes often experience a complex heating process – "at first they are fried or boiled, and then stewed or baked. This is the most distinctive feature of Ukrainian cuisine".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorals</span> Ethnic group of Central Europe

The Gorals, also known as the Highlanders are an indigenous ethnographic or ethnic group primarily found in their traditional area of southern Poland, northern Slovakia and in the region of Cieszyn Silesia in the Czech Republic, where they are known as the Silesian Gorals. There is also a significant Goral diaspora in the area of Bukovina in western Ukraine and in northern Romania, as well as in Chicago, the seat of the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukrainian dance</span> Dance of various ethnic groups in Ukraine

Ukrainian dance mostly refers to the traditional folk dances of the Ukrainians as an ethnic group, but may also refer to dances originating from the multiple other ethnic groups within Ukraine. This stylized art form has so permeated the culture of Ukraine, that very few purely traditional forms of Ukrainian dance remain today. Ukrainian folk dances are largely influenced by all neighbouring countries as Ukraine and its various parts were the integral parts of several neighbouring countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paska (bread)</span> Ukrainian Easter bread

Paska is a Ukrainian Easter bread tradition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kulich</span>

Kulich is the Russian name for Easter bread. For the Eastern Slavs, festive bread was round and tall, and dough decorations were made on top of it. The cylindrical shape of the cake is associated with the church practice of baking artos. The Paska bread tradition spread in cultures which were connected to the Byzantine Empire and it's a traditional cultural part of countries with an Orthodox Christian population. It is eaten in countries like Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia and Serbia. Kulich is a variant of paska Easter breads and represents not only Easter but also the spring. Easter is a very important celebration in Eastern European countries, even more important than Christmas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paskha</span> Slavic festive dish

Paskha is a Slavic festive dish made in Eastern Orthodox countries which consists of food that is forbidden during the fast of Great Lent. It is made during Holy Week and then brought to Church on Great Saturday to be blessed after the Paschal Vigil. The name of the dish comes from Pascha, the Eastern Orthodox celebration of Easter. Besides Russia, Ukraine, etc., pashav is also often served in Finland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trembita</span> Alpine horn (musical instrument)

The trembita is an alpine horn made of wood. It is common among Ukrainian highlanders Hutsuls who live in western Ukraine, eastern Poland, Slovakia, and northern Romania. In Poland it is known as a trombita, a bazuna, or a ligawka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egg decorating in Slavic culture</span> Tradition

The tradition of egg decoration in Slavic cultures originated in pagan times, and was transformed by the process of religious syncretism into the Christian Easter egg. Over time, many new techniques were added. Some versions of these decorated eggs have retained their pagan symbolism, while others have added Christian symbols and motifs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pirog</span> Pastry of Russian/Eastern European origin with sweet or savory filling

Pirog is a baked case of dough with either sweet or savory filling. The dish is common in Eastern European cuisines. Pirogi (pl.) are characterized as "ubiquitous in Russian life" and "the most popular and important dish" and "truly national goods" of Russian cuisine.

The holiday of Easter is associated with various Easter customs and foodways. Preparing, coloring, and decorating Easter eggs is one such popular tradition. Lamb is eaten in many countries, mirroring the Jewish Passover meal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quark (dairy product)</span> Acid-set cheese

Quark or quarg is a type of fresh dairy product made from milk. The milk is soured, usually by adding lactic acid bacteria cultures, and strained once the desired curdling is achieved. It can be classified as fresh acid-set cheese. Traditional quark can be made without rennet, but in modern dairies small quantities of rennet are typically added. It is soft, white and unaged, and usually has no salt added.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kielbasa</span> Smoked Polish sausage

Kielbasa is any type of meat sausage from Poland and a staple of Polish cuisine. In American English the word typically refers to a coarse, U-shaped smoked sausage of any kind of meat, which closely resembles the Wiejskasausage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pokuttia–Bukovina dialect</span> Dialect of Ukrainian

The Pokuttia–Bukovina dialect is a dialect of the Ukrainian language that originated in Pokuttia and Bukovina under the influence of the Romanian language. Along with Hutsul, Upper Prutian and Upper Sannian dialects, it is part of the archaic Galician-Bukovinian group of dialects. The dialect is locally spoken in some regions in Western Ukraine south of the Dniester and east of the Carpathian Mountains.

References

  1. "Gley Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster".
  2. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "Які українські слова запозичила англійська? #БЛУ". YouTube .

See also