List of English words of Ukrainian origin

English words of Ukrainian origin are words in the English language that have been borrowed or derived from the Ukrainian language. Some of them may have entered English via Russian, Polish, or Yiddish, among others. They may have originated in another languages, but are used to describe notions related to Ukraine.^{[citation needed]} Some are regionalisms, used in English-speaking places with a significant Ukrainian diaspora population, especially Canada, but all of these have entered the general English vocabulary.

Some words such as knyaz are traced back to the times of Kievan Rus, and hence claimed both by Russians and Ukrainians, both claiming the Kievan Rus heritage.

babka: Type of sweet Easter bread (Ukrainian: ба́бка, romanized: babka, related to French baba au rhum, Yiddish באַבקע).
bandura: Type of plucked string folk instrument (Ukrainian: банду́ра).
chumak: Historical and traditional wagon-based trading occupation (Ukrainian: чума́к).; Underwear, Canadian English regionalism. Also gaunch, gaunchies in Alberta.
hetman: Rank of Cossack military-political leaders [Ukrainian: ге́тьман].
holubtsi: Cabbage rolls, Canadian English [Ukrainian: голубці́, plural from голубе́ць holubets].
hopak: Lively traditional dance [Ukrainian: гопа́к].
horilka: Type of Ukrainian alcoholic beverage [Ukrainian: горілка].; Garlic sausage, Canadian English. Also kubie, kubie burger [Ukrainian ковбаса́].
oseledets: Style of haircut associated with Ukrainian cossacks, topknot.
paska: Type of decorated Easter bread, a rich dessert with curd cheese and dried fruit. Also paskha or pashka [Ukrainian: па́ска].
pysanka: Decorated Easter egg [Ukrainian: пи́санка].; Ukrainian pronunciation: [trɪˈzub]), a trident emblem representing Ukraine, particularly, on the coat of arms.
varenyky: Boiled dumplings with a variety of fillings, such as potatoes, cherries, strawberries, meat, etc. [Ukrainian: варе́ники varenyky, plural from варе́ник varenyk].
vyshyvanka: Traditional embroidered shirt [Ukrainian: вишива́нка].

English words from Ukrainian

Cuisine

Borscht (Ukrainian: and Russian: борщ, romanized: borshch), beet soup, also used in the expression "cheap like borscht".

Kasha (Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian: кáша), a porridge, gruel, oatmeal.

Paska (Ukrainian: па́ска, "Easter" = "Paskha"). A rich Ukrainian dessert made with soft cheese, dried fruit, nuts, and spices, traditionally eaten at Easter.

Ethnic

Boyko or Boiko (Ukrainian: бо́йко),

a distinctive group of Ukrainian highlanders or mountain-dwellers of the Carpathian highlands.

Cossack (Ukrainian: коза́к, romanized: kozak)

Ethnic group

Hutsul (Ukrainian: гуцу́л),

an ethno-cultural group who for centuries have inhabited the Carpathian Mountains.

Katsap (slang, derogatory, ethnic slur;

Ukrainian: кацап, romanized: katsap); a Russian, especially from a Ukrainian perspective.

Lemko (Ukrainian: ле́мко),

a distinctive group of Ukrainian highlanders or mountain-dwellers of the Carpathian highlands.

Rusyn (Ukrainian: руси́н),

an ethnic group of Ukrainians. Old self-name of the Ukrainians.

Politics

Banderite (Ukrainian: банде́рівець), a member of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists or of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.

Boyar (Ukrainian: singular боя́рин boiaryn, plural боя́ри boiary), a member of the highest rank of the feudal Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Ukrainian aristocracy, second only to the ruling princes, from the 10th century through the 17th century. Many headed the civil and military administrations in their country.

Euromaidan: (Ukrainian: Євромайдан, romanized: Euromaidan, lit. 'Europe Square'); series of antigovernment protests in Ukraine that started in Kyiv's Maidan Nezalezhnosti in November 2013.

Sich (Ukrainian: січ, romanized: sich, historical) a Ukrainian cossack autonomous territory or administration. Usually meaning the Zaporozhian Sich. A town that was part of the greater sich (Січ), the administrative and military centre for Cossacks.

Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian: Верхо́вна Ра́да), Ukraine's parliament, literally Supreme Council, formerly also translated as the Supreme Soviet.

Other

Hryvnia or sometimes hryvnya (Ukrainian: гри́вня), the national currency of Ukraine since 1996.

Hucul or hutsul (Ukrainian: гуцульський кінь, гуцулик or гуцул), a pony or small horse breed originally from the Carpathian Mountains.

Karbovanets (Ukrainian: карбо́ванець), Ukrainian currency in 1917-1920, 1942-1945 and in 1992-1996.

Khorovod (Ukrainian: хорово́д), a Slavic art form consisting of a combination of a circle dance and chorus singing, similar to Chorea of ancient Greece.

Kurgan (Ukrainian: курга́н "tumulus"), a type of burial mound found in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Naftohaz or Naftogaz (Ukrainian: Нафтогаз), the national oil and gas company of Ukraine, literally "Oil and gas".

Surzhyk (Ukrainian: су́ржик), a mixed (macaronic) sociolects of Ukrainian and Russian languages used in certain regions of Ukraine and adjacent lands.

Tachanka (Ukrainian: тача́нка), a horse-drawn machine gun platform.

References

Katherine Barber, editor (2004). The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, second edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-541816-6.
Katherine Barber (2008). Only in Canada, You Say: A Treasury of Canadian Language. Toronto: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-542984-8.