Soviet
/ˈsoʊ.vi.ət/noun
A council, especially one of workers, soldiers, or peasants, or relating to the former Soviet Union.
Did you know?The word originally referred to local councils of workers and soldiers during the 1905 and 1917 Russian Revolutions, not to the Soviet Union itself.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Slavic
Proto-Slavic
*sъvě(t)ъ
“Counsel, advice, or deliberation”
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic
съвѣтъ (sъvě̀tъ)
“Counsel, advice, or an assembly giving counsel”
Medieval Russian
Russian
совѣтъ (sovětъ)
“Advice, counsel, or council”
1905
Russian
совет (sovet)
“A council of workers or other social groups formed for political representation”
1917
Russian
Совет (Sovet)
“A revolutionary council; collectively, the governing councils of the new communist state”
20th Century
English
Soviet
“Relating to the Soviet Union or its political system”