Wit-Rusland

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch Wit-Rusland, equivalent to native wit +‎ Rusland.

Proper noun

Wit-Rusland

1. Belarus (a country in Eastern Europe; capital: Minsk)

   Synonym: Belarus

Usage notes

The term Wit-Rusland has mostly been displaced by the term Belarus, especially among younger Afrikaans speakers, and is sometimes considered dated.

Related terms

• Wit-Rus
• Wit-Russies

Dutch

Etymology

From wit (“white”) +‎ Rusland (“Russia”), a calque of Russian Белору́ссия (Belorússija). Cognate with German Weißrussland, English White Russia, Faroese Hvítarussland, Swedish Vitryssland among others.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌʋɪtˈrʏs.lɑnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Wit-Rus‧land

Proper noun

Wit-Rusland n (adjective Wit-Russisch, demonym Wit-Rus m or Wit-Russin f or Wit-Russische f)

1. Belarus (a country in Eastern Europe)

   Synonyms: Belarus, (rare) Belaroes

Usage notes

• Following the 2020 Belarusian protests, there has been a shift in the mainstream media and official websites towards the use of the name Belarus.

Descendants

• → Afrikaans: Wit-Rusland