Where does “Russian” come from?
Russian derives from Latin Russianus, from Latin Russia, from Russian Русь, from Old East Slavic Русь, from Finnish Ruotsi, from Finnish ruotsi, from Old Swedish roþs-.
Russian (English): Of or pertaining to Russia; Of or pertaining to...
Definitions
- Of or pertaining to Russia; Of or pertaining to...
Ancestry of “Russian”, step by step
Russian traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Latin Russianus
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | Russianus | — |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | Russia | — |
| 3 | Medieval Latin | Russi | Russians |
| 4 | Old East Slavic | Русь | Rus; Ruthenia |
| 5 | Finnish | ruotsi | Swedish |
| 6 | Proto-Finnic | *roocci | Swede originally anyone from Roslagen |
| 7 | Old Swedish | roþs- | related to rowing |
| 8 | Old Norse | róðr | rowing |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | rōþrą | oar; rudder |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁reh₁- | to row; to separate; loose, sparse, rare |
via Persian Persian
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Persian | Persian | — |