List of English words of Ukrainian origin
# 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. 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, related to French baba au rhum].

## bandura

    Type of plucked string folk instrument [Ukrainian: банду́ра].

## chumak

    Historical and traditional wagon-based trading occupation [Ukrainian: чума́к].

## gitch

    Underwear, Canadian English slang. 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].

## kubasa

    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].

## pyrih

    Pie with sweet or savoury filling [Ukrainian: пирі́г].

## pyrizhky

    Small baked or fried bun, stuffed with various fillings [Ukrainian: пиріжки́, plural from пиріжо́к pyrizhok, diminutive from пирі́г pyrih].

## pyrohy

    Stuffed dumplings or pastry (from western Ukraine, where it is a synonym for varenyky). Also singular perogy [Ukrainian: пироги́, plural from пирі́г pyrih].

## pysanka

    Decorated Easter egg [Ukrainian: пи́санка].

## 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: борщ borshch), beet soup, also used in the expression "cheap like borscht".

Kasha (Ukrainian: ка́ша), a porridge.

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

Syrniki, sometimes also sirniki (Ukrainian: си́рники syrnyky, from сир syr, originally soft white cheese in Slavic languages). Fried quark cheese pancakes, garnished with sour cream, jam, honey, or apple sauce.

### Ethnic

Boyko or Boiko (Ukrainian: бо́йко), a distinctive group of Ukrainian highlanders or mountain-dwellers of the Carpathian highlands.

Cossack (Ukrainian: коза́к kozak), a freedom-loving horseman of the steppes.

Hutsul (Ukrainian: гуцу́л), an ethno-cultural group who for centuries have inhabited the Carpathian Mountains.

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

Verkhovynian or Verkhovynets (Ukrainian: верховинець), a distinctive group of Ukrainian highlanders or mountain-dwellers of the Carpathian highlands.

### Politic

Banderist (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.

Rukh (Ukrainian: Рух; movement), a Ukrainian centre-right political party the People's Movement of Ukraine.

Sich (Ukrainian: 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

Gley (Ukrainian: глей) - a sticky clay soil or soil layer formed under the surface of some waterlogged soils. Ukrainian gleĭ clayey earth; akin to Old English clǣg clay.

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.

Kniaz (Ukrainian: князь knyaz', etymologically related to the English word king from Old English cyning, meaning "tribe", related the German König, and the Scandinavian konung, probably borrowed early from the Proto-Germanic Kuningaz, a form also borrowed by Finnish and Estonian "Kuningas"; the title and functions however of a Kniaz corresponded, though not exact, to more of a Prince or Duke), a title given to members of Ukrainian nobility that arose during the Rurik dynasty.

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".

Steppe (Ukrainian: степ) is one of the vast usually level and treeless tracts in southeastern Europe or Asia. The word is likely to come from French, where previously it had been taken from Polish, where it said to be originated from Ukrainian.

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.

