Ukraine

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: Ukraîne

English[edit]

Flag of Ukraine
Ukraine (green); territories currently occupied by Russia (light green).

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Polish Ukraina or Russian Украи́на (Ukraína), from Old East Slavic оукраина (ukraina), which is most commonly taken to have meant "borderland, marches" in this context, though for about a century now Ukrainian scholars have articulated an alternative theory that it meant "region, country, the land around (a given center)" in this context instead. See Name of Ukraine for more.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (UK) IPA(key): /juːˈkɹeɪn/, /ˈjuːˌkɹeɪn/
  • (US) IPA(key): /juˈkɹeɪn/, /ˈjuˌkɹeɪn/, [ju̟ˈkɹeɪ̯n], [ˈjuˌkɹeɪ̯n]
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪn

Proper noun[edit]

Ukraine or the Ukraine

  1. A country in Eastern Europe, bordering on the north coast of the Black Sea. Capital and largest city: Kyiv.

Usage notes[edit]

  • Since the country's independence in 1991, style guides recommend Ukraine (as in “a musician from Ukraine”), without an article. Previously, the most common usage was the Ukraine (as in “a musician from the Ukraine”).[1][2]

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • Ukrainian: Юкрейн (Jukrejn)

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Tom Geoghegan (June 7, 2012), “Ukraine or the Ukraine: Why do some country names have 'the'?”, in BBC News Magazine[1], archived from the original on 2016-10-28
  2. ^ Steinmetz, Katy (2014-03-05), “Ukraine, Not the Ukraine: The Significance of Three Little Letters”, in Time[2], retrieved 2022-12-06

Further reading[edit]

Danish[edit]

Proper noun[edit]

Ukraine

  1. Ukraine (a country in Eastern Europe, bordering on the north coast of the Black Sea)

Related terms[edit]

French[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Proper noun[edit]

Ukraine f

  1. Ukraine (a country in Eastern Europe, bordering on the north coast of the Black Sea)
    • 1731, Voltaire, Histoire de Charles XII, page 161:
      L’Ukraine a toujours aspiré à être libre : mais étant entourée de la Moscovie, des états du grand-seigneur, et de la Pologne, il lui a fallu chercher un protecteur, et par conséquent un maître dans l’un de ces trois états. Elle se mit d’abord sous la protection de la Pologne qui la traita trop en sujette : elle se donna depuis au Moscovite, qui la gouverna en esclave autant qu’il le put. D’abord les Ukrainiens jouirent du privilège d’élire un prince sous le nom de général ; mais bientôt ils furent dépouillés de ce droit, et leur général fut nommé par la cour de Moscou.
      Ukraine has always aspired to be free: but being surrounded by Muscovy, the states of the Sultan, and Poland, a protector had to be sought, and consequently a master in one of these three states. She first put herself under the protection of Poland, who treated her too much as subject. She then gave herself to the Muscovite, who governed her as a slave as much as he could. At first the Ukrainians enjoyed the privilege of electing a prince under the name of general; but soon they were stripped of this right, and their general was appointed by the court of Moscow.

Related terms[edit]

See also[edit]

German[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): [ˌukʁaˈiːnə], [ˌukʁaˈʔiːnə]
  • (file)
  • IPA(key): [uˈkʁaɪ̯nə] (less common)

Proper noun[edit]

die Ukraine f (proper noun, usually definite, definite genitive der Ukraine)

  1. Ukraine (a country in Eastern Europe, bordering on the north coast of the Black Sea)

Usage notes[edit]

  • Normally used with the definite article. Very occasionally, Ukraine occurs without a definite article; in such cases a genitive Ukraines may occur. In such usages, the gender is unclear.
  • Even more rarely, a plural Ukrainen may occur.

Declension[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Swahili[edit]

Swahili Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sw

Proper noun[edit]

Ukraine

  1. Ukraine (a country in Eastern Europe, bordering on the north coast of the Black Sea)