Russian

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Etymology 1

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Attested first from the year 1731, borrowed from Polish kozyr, also kozer, variants of kozyra, kozera (trump; card-sharper; card-game; struggle, calamity), a dialectal variant – already attested in the 16th century in the sense “trump” – of kostera, kostyra (card sharper), from kość (die), also kozyrnik, kozernik (card-shark; fullam-player).

Compare as another cardgame term that has passed into Russian from Polish: шу́лер (šúler, card-sharp).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈkozɨrʲ]
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

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ко́зырь (kózyrʹm inan (genitive ко́зыря, nominative plural ко́зыри, genitive plural козыре́й, relational adjective козырно́й or козы́рный)

  1. trump
  2. (idiomatic) main argument, used in the right time to gain advantage
  3. (idiomatic) unrevealed or hidden advantage
    припасённый ко́зырьpripasjónnyj kózyrʹ(please add an English translation of this usage example)
    кто́-то припа́с ко́зырьktó-to pripás kózyrʹ(please add an English translation of this usage example)
Declension
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Descendants
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Etymology 2

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Inherited from Middle Russian козырь (kozyrʹ) (att. 1641), козирь (kozirʹ). Origin unclear, but suggested to be connected to коза.

Noun

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ко́зырь (kózyrʹm inan (genitive ко́зыря, nominative plural ко́зыри, genitive plural козыре́й, relational adjective козырно́й)

  1. (obsolete) high standing collar
  2. (obsolete) or (regional) canopy over a horse-drawn cart, sleigh
  3. (obsolete) or (regional) peak, visor
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References

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  • Kiparsky, Valentin (1975) Russische historische Grammatik. Band III: Entwicklung des Wortschatzes (in German), Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 172