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Decembrist

Decembrist

9.9
A Russian who joined an unsuccessful uprising in December 1825
  • noun
  • /dɪˈsɛmbrɪst/
translation icon : decembrista
  • wives of the Decembrists

Examples

  • Merezhkovsky also heralds the coming Age of the Holy Spirit, both in this work and in later historical novels devoted to the conflict between Peter the Great and his son Alexis, and to the Decembrist uprising.

    Academic text (1991)
  • The Decembrists' failed uprising in 1825 is an important event in Russian history.

  • Many Decembrists were exiled to Siberia after their revolt against the tsar.

  • The ideas of the Decembrists influenced future revolutionary movements in Russia.

Surface Forms

Decembrist singular
Decembrists plural

Morphology

Decembrist = December (transparent) = December + ist

The agentive/associative '-ist' attached to 'December' straightforwardly denotes a person associated with an event in December (the December uprising), so the formation is predictable to learners.

Etymology

Decembrist was the name given to a group of Russian rebels who led a revolt in December 1825. The ending -ist, as in artist, means 'person connected with', so a Decembrist is someone tied to that December uprising.