White Russian
- noun
- Archaic
:
bielorruso
- He studied White Russian to better understand historical documents from Belarus.
Examples
-
The book was originally written in White Russian before being translated into English.
-
The traditional poetry was recited in White Russian at the festival.
-
The term White Russian refers to the Belarusian language.
-
Many people are learning White Russian in language classes.
-
He studied White Russian to better understand historical documents from Belarus.
-
The traditional poetry was recited in White Russian at the festival.
-
Many people are learning White Russian in language classes.
Synonyms
1
7.2
A Slavic language spoken mainly in Belarus
The language spoken in Belarus
A language spoken in Belarus, also called Belarusian
A language spoken mainly in Belarus that uses the Cyrillic alphabet
A language spoken mainly in Belarus
Surface Forms
Morphology
White + Russian
This is a conventional name for a specific cocktail rather than a compositional phrase whose meaning follows from 'white' and 'Russian'. A B1 learner who knows the words 'white' and 'Russian' would not reliably infer a drink made of vodka, coffee liqueur, and cream; the link is cultural/proper-name based and not predictably derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
White Russian was once a simple name for the language spoken in the land called 'White Russia', which is now called 'Belarus'. So the term meant the 'Belarusian language'.