Cossack

Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Cos·sack

(kŏs′ăk)

A member of a people of southern European Russia and adjacent parts of Asia. Many Cossacks served as cavalrymen in the armies of the czars.

[Russian kazak and Ukrainian kozak, both from South Turkic qazaq, adventurer; see Kazakh.]

Cos′sack′ adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cossack

(ˈkɒsæk)

(Historical Terms) (formerly) any of the free warrior-peasants of chiefly East Slavonic descent who lived in communes, esp in Ukraine, and served as cavalry under the tsars

adj

(Historical Terms) of, relating to, or characteristic of the Cossacks: a Cossack dance.

[C16: from Russian kazak vagabond, of Turkic origin]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Cos•sack

(ˈkɒs æk, -ək)

n.

1. a member of any of a number of self-governing communities of varied ethnic affiliation that developed on the S and E frontiers of the Muscovite state and Poland-Lithuania after c1400: all were eventually incorporated into czarist Russia.

2. a mounted soldier of a military unit drafted from any of these communities.

[1590–1600; < Polish kozak or Ukrainian kozák, ultimately < a Turkic word taken to mean “adventurer, freebooter”]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun

Cossack - a member of a Slavic people living in southern European Russia and Ukraine and adjacent parts of Asia and noted for their horsemanship and military skill; they formed an elite cavalry corps in czarist Russia

Slav - any member of the people of eastern Europe or Asian Russia who speak a Slavonic language

Translations

kosakisch

Cosaque

cosacco

казак

Cossack

[ˈkɒsæk]

A. ADJ → cosaco m

B. N → cosaco/a m/f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

cossack

n → Kosak(in) m(f)

adj → Kosaken-

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

A Cossack who accompanied him had handed him a knapsack and a flask, and Nesvitski was treating some officers to pies and real doppelkummel.

He called the Cossack with his horse, told him to put away the knapsack and flask, and swung his heavy person easily into the saddle.

View in context

I came to it by accident, and without any manner, of preoccupation in The Cossacks, one of his early books, which had been on my shelves unread for five or six years.

After 'The Cossacks' I read 'Anna Karenina' with a deepening sense of the author's unrivalled greatness.

View in context

Among a jam-packed schedule of competitions, the main ring will host many exciting attractions including The International Dzhigitovka Show, an unparalleled performance of horsemanship and daring skill showcased by the Cossack Trick Riders, National Squad Dzhigitovka Competitors and world championship performers.

Schedule for event's competitions is released

Naqvi's latest novel The Selected Works of Abdullah the Cossack, might be a 'Cossack' (having successfully imbibed his way to earning that name), but Naqvi himself is nothing short of a veritable Vaslav Nijinsky when it comes to negotiating the balletics of Pakistani Anglophone writing.

FICTION: THE NEXT BIG KARACHI NOVEL?

A Cossack GET ready to gallop because, for the first time in 10 years, Europe's equestrian theatre show Spirit of the Horse is touring the UK with a spectacular new production for 2018 - Renaissance.

STIRRUP YOUR LOVE OF HORSES WITH A SPECTACULAR EQUINE EXPERIENCE; GOING OUT

DON COSSACK enters a crucial stage of his rehabilitation from career-threatening injury when the Cheltenham Gold Cup hero resumes full work on Tuesday.

D-DAY FOR DON

Dmitry Slaboda, one of the Cossacks, said the original plan had been just to throw milk at Navalny and his supporters and to hurl insults at them, but that things had turned violent after one of them had elbowed an old cossack to the ground.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and supporters attacked

Britain's biggest bookmakers - for now at least - complained about a punter-friendly Cheltenham festival, where Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary's horse Don Cossack won the Gold Cup, plus costly football results.