cossack
English
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Cossack¹
- /ˈkɒsˌæk/ UK
- /ˈkɑsˌæk/ US
- /ˈkɔsˌæk/ US
Where it comes from
From Middle French cosaque, from Middle Polish Kozak, from Middle Ukrainian коза́къ (kozák), from Kipchak *qazaq (whence Armeno-Kipchak խազախ (xazax)), from Old Turkic 𐰴𐰔𐰍𐰸 (*qazǧaq, “profiteer”), from 𐰴𐰔𐰍𐰣𐰢𐰴 (qazǧanmaq, “to acquire”), from 𐰴𐰔𐰢𐰴 (qazmaq, “to dig out”), from Proto-Turkic *kaŕ-. Doublet of Kazakh. First appears c. 1587 in the writings of George Turberville.
noun Cossacks · cossack · kozak · Kozak
- 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 neighbouring countries, that eventually settled in parts of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian tsarist Empire and constituted a military caste, particularly in areas now comprising southern Russia and Ukraine.
- A member of a military unit (typically cavalry, originally recruited exclusively from the above).
- A Ukrainian.
- A mercenary, a violent thug: a regular or irregular soldier, police officer or security guard employed to persecute or oppress disfavoured groups, such as Jews or (striking) workers. 1865 The Coal and Iron Police are authorized by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to maintain order in the coal fields. The miners referred to these private policemen as "Cossacks" and "Yellow Dogs."
cossack²
noun cossacks
- Alternative letter-case form of Cossack
Translations
Every language
noun member of a population
| Español | cosaco |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 카자크 kajakeu |
| 日本語 | コサック kosakku |
| 中文 | 哥薩克 /哥萨克 gēsàkè |
| हिन्दी | कोज़ाक kozāk, कज़ाक kazāk, कजाक kajāk |
| Português | cossaco |
| Français | Cosaque |
| Deutsch | Kosak |
| Italiano | cosacco |
| Ελληνικά | Κοζάκος Kozákos |
| Română | cazac |
| Русский | каза́к kazák, коза́к kozák, каза́чка kazáčka |
| Tiếng Việt | Cô-dắc |
| العربية | قُوزَاق quzāq |
| עברית | קוזאק kozak |
Talk about this word "cossack." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cossack. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. cossack. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cossack "cossack." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cossack.Cite this
@misc{cossack_2026,
title = {cossack},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cossack},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
