Cossack

See also: cossack

English

Cossacks (military).

Alternative forms

Etymology

1600, French cosaque, from Polish Kozak[1], from Ukrainian коза́к (kozák) (cf. Russian каза́к (kazák) or коза́к (kozák) (older spelling)), from a Turkic word quzzāq meaning “free man, wanderer”. Cognate with Kazakh.

Pronunciation

Noun

Cossack (plural Cossacks)

  1. A member or descendant of an originally (semi-)nomadic population of Eastern Europe and the adjacent parts of Asia, formed in part of runaways from the neighbouring countries, that eventually settled in parts of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian tsarist Empire (where they constituted a legendary military caste), particularly in areas now comprising southern Russia and Ukraine.
  2. A member of a military unit (typically cavalry, originally recruited exclusively from the above)
  3. (obsolete) A Ukrainian.

Derived terms

  • cossack green
  • cossack hat

Translations

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References

Anagrams

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