KGB

See also: Kgb

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Russian КГБ (KGB), acronym of Комите́т госуда́рственной безопа́сности (Komitét gosudárstvennoj bezopásnosti, “State Security Committee”).

Proper noun

the KGB

1. (historical) The Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union (the Soviet security service).
   • 2001 January 4, Garry Kasparov, “The Russian President Trades on Fear”, in The Wall Street Journal‎^[1], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 09 January 2015, International‎^[2]:

     President Putin's KGB roots have sadly informed a style of governance that is neither reformist nor particularly democratic. The common thread throughout his domestic and foreign policies is his effort to trade on fear -- the fears of Russians that their country is under attack from hostile external forces (Chechens, NATO or free marketeers); and the fears of Westerners that if not for a strong, pragmatic leader, Russia will again become unruly, unstable and potentially aggressive.

   • 2019 [2018], Ben Macintyre, chapter 4, in The Spy and the Traitor, Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 75:

     But in 1967 Treholt's trenchant opposition to the Vietnam War attracted the attention of the KGB.

2. The security service of Belarus.

Translations

Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union

• Arabic: كَي جِي بِي m (kay jī bī), كَاي جِي بِي m (kāy jī bī)
• Armenian: ՊԱԿ (hy) (PAK)
• Azerbaijani: DTK
• Belarusian: КДБ m (KDB)
• Bengali: কেজিবি (kejibi)
• Bulgarian: КГБ m (KGB)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 克格勃 (zh) (kègébó)

• French: KGB (fr) m
• Georgian: სუკ (suḳ)
• German: KGB (de) m
• Hebrew: ק.ג.ב. m (ka ge be)
• Hindi: केजीबी (kejībī)
• Japanese: カーゲーベー (kāgēbē), ケージービー (kējībī)
• Khmer: កាហ្សេបេ (kaa zee bee)
• Korean: 카게베 (kagebe), 케이지비 (keijibi)
• Kyrgyz: МКК (MKK)
• Latvian: VDK m
• Macedonian: КГБ m (KGB)
• Mongolian: УАХХ (UAXX)
• Polish: KGB (pl) m or n
• Portuguese: KGB f
• Russian: КГБ (ru) m (KGB)
• Spanish: KGB (es) m
• Swedish: KGB (sv)
• Turkmen: DHK
• Ukrainian: КДБ m (KDB)
• Uzbek: DXO
• Yiddish: קאַגעבע f (kagebe)

security service of Belarus

• Belarusian: КДБ m (KDB)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 克格勃 (zh) (Kègébó)

• Polish: KGB (pl) m or n
• Russian: КГБ (ru) m (KGB)
• Ukrainian: КДБ m (KDB)

See also

• FSB
• NKVD
• Cheka

Further reading

• KGB on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology 2

Noun

KGB (plural KGBs)

1. (electronics) Initialism of known good board.

Translations

Known Good Board

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian КГБ (KGB), through phonetic spelling of Komitét Gosudárstvennoj Bezopásnosti and acronymization.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.ʒe.be/

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

KGB m

1. KGB (the former Soviet State Security Committee)

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian КГБ (KGB).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.ɡjɛˈbɛ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛbɛ
• Syllabification: K‧G‧B

Proper noun

KGB m inan or KGB n (indeclinable)

1. (historical) KGB (the former Soviet State Security Committee)
2. KGB (the current Belarusian security service)

Derived terms

nouns

• kagebista
• kagiebista
• KGB-ista

 

Further reading

• KGB in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• KGB in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Proper noun

KGB f

1. KGB (Russian secret police)

Slovak

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian КГБ (KGB), through phonetic spelling of Komitét Gosudárstvennoj Bezopásnosti and acronymization.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkaːɡeːbeː]

Proper noun

KGB n

1. KGB (the former Soviet State Security Committee)

Further reading

• “KGB”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024

Spanish

Proper noun

KGB m

1. KGB (soviet KGB)