Menshevik
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Russian меньшеви́к (menʹševík), derived from меньшинство́ (menʹšinstvó, “minority”), formed in turn from Russian ме́ньше (ménʹše), the comparative of ма́лый (mályj, “little”)[1].
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈmɛnʃəvɪk/
Noun
Menshevik (plural Mensheviks or Mensheviki)
- (now chiefly historical) A member of the gradualist or moderate wing of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party during the years preceding the Russian Revolution, when they split with the Bolsheviks; or a member of a later independent moderate-Marxist party formed in 1917. [from 20th c.]
- 1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber 2003, p. 259:
- ‘Better an ultra-leftist than a Menshevik,’ said Rosa Kaletsky.
- 1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber 2003, p. 259:
Translations
member of a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement
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References
- T.F. Hoad, Concise Dictionary of English Etymology, →ISBN; headword Menshevik
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