cossack

Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).

Synonyms: kossack, cossak, cossac

Antonyms: kossack, cossak, cossac

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Noun

1. A member or descendant of an originally (semi-)[[nomadic]] population of [[Eastern Europe]] and the adjacent parts of Asia, formed in part of [[runaway]]s from neighbouring countries, that eventually settled in parts of the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] and the Russian [[tsarist]] Empire and constituted a military [[caste]], particularly in areas now comprising southern Russia and Ukraine.
2. A member of a [[military]] [[unit]] (typically [[cavalry]], originally recruited exclusively from the above).
3. {{label|en|obsolete}} A [[Ukrainian]].
4. {{label|en|derogatory}} A [[mercenary]], a violent [[thug]]: a regular or irregular soldier, police officer or security guard employed to [[persecute]] or [[oppress]] disfavoured groups, such as [[Jew]]s or ([[strike|striking]]) [[worker]]s.

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.