RUSSIA

Russia

(noun) a former empire in eastern Europe and northern Asia created in the 14th century with Moscow as the capital; powerful in the 17th and 18th centuries under Peter the Great and Catherine the Great when Saint Petersburg was the capital; overthrown by revolution in 1917

Russia, Russian Federation

(noun) a federation in northeastern Europe and northern Asia; formerly Soviet Russia; since 1991 an independent state

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Proper noun

Russia (countable and uncountable, plural Russias)

A country in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. The country extends from the Gulf of Finland to the Pacific Ocean, and was part of the USSR from 1922 to 1991. Co-official name: Russian Federation, formerly the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). Capital and largest city: Moscow.

(historical, informal) The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (a very common name, although more formally Russia, the RSFSR, was one of several constituent republics of the USSR).

(historical) The Russian Empire.

(historical, dated) Rus, the medieval East Slavic state.

(dated, countable) Any of several East Slavic states descended from the Rus, typically including Russia (Great Russia), Belarus (White Russia) and Ukraine (Little Russia or Kievan Russia).

Synonyms

• Russian Federation

Anagrams

• Sauris

Source: Wiktionary

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Rus"sia, n.

Definition: A country of Europe and Asia. Russia iron, a kind of sheet iron made in Russia, having a lustrous blue-black surface.

– Russia leather, a soft kind of leather, made originally in Russia but now elsewhere, having a peculiar odor from being impregnated with an oil obtained from birch bark. It is much used in bookbinding, on account of its not being subject to mold, and being proof against insects.

– Russia matting, matting manufactured in Russia from the inner bark of the linden (Tilia Europæa).

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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