babushka
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
Borrowed from Russian ба́бушка (bábuška, “grandmother, granny”), diminutive of ба́ба (bába, “old woman”).
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
babushka (plural babushkas or babushki)
- An old woman, especially one of Eastern European descent.
- (By association) A stereotypical, Eastern European peasant grandmother-type figure.
- A traditional floral headscarf worn by an Eastern European woman, tied under the chin.
- 1966, Thomas Pynchon, chapter 5, in The Crying of Lot 49, New York: Bantam Books, published 1976, →ISBN, page 79:
- “Say hello to old Stanley,” he called as she pattered down the steps into the street, flung a babushka over her license plate and screeched away down Telegraph.
- 1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin 2006, p. 78:
- The crowd falls silent, momentarily stunned, while a heavyset woman in a babushka pushes her way through, broadcasting the news […].
- Russian doll, matryoshka
Usage notesEdit
- Note that the Russian term ба́бушка (bábuška, “grandmother, granny; old woman”) doesn't have the sense "Russian doll, matryoshka" or "woman’s headscarf".
Coordinate termsEdit
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
an old woman
woman’s headscarf tied under the chin
matryoshka — see Russian doll