matryoshka

English
matryoshka

Etymology

From Russian матрёшка (matrjóška), from personal name Матрёна (Matrjóna), formerly Матрона (Matrona), ultimately from Latin mātrōna (“matron”).

Pronunciation
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˌmætɹɪˈɒʃkə/, (US) IPA(key): /ˌmɑtɹiˈoʊʃkə/
  • Hyphenation: ma‧try‧osh‧ka

Noun

matryoshka (plural matryoshkas or matryoshki)

  1. One of a set of wooden Russian dolls of different sizes, designed such that each fits inside the next. [from 20th c.]
    Synonym: Russian doll
    • 2011, Norman Davies, Vanished Kingdoms, Penguin, page 35:
      The past is not only a foreign country that we half knew existed; it is hiding another concealed country behind it, and behind that one, another, and another – like a set of Russian matryoshki, in which larger dolls conceal smaller.

Translations
Russian doll — see Russian doll

Further reading

Portuguese

Noun

matryoshka f (plural matryoshkas)

  1. Alternative spelling of matrioshka
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.