kolovrat

See also: Kolovrat

English

Two variants of the kolovrat symbol.

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-Slavic *kolovortъ. In historical records, similar symbols were recorded as ладинец (ladinec) in Russian or słoneczko in Polish.

This spelling was influenced by Russian коловра́т (kolovrát), the more well-known form of the symbol invented by the neo-pagan leader Alexey Dobrovolsky in the 1990s.

Noun

kolovrat (plural kolovrats)

1. (paganism, politics, fascism, nationalism) An eight-spoked swastika used by Slavic neopagan, fascist, and nationalist groups.
   • 2009, George McKay, Michael Goddard, Christopher Williams, Neil Foxlee, editors, Subcultures and New Religious Movements in Russia and East-Central Europe, Peter Lang, →ISBN, page 284:

     In contrast, Krasnodar respondents were keen to differentiate between the kolovrat and the swastika, while recognizing the symbolic connections between them: […]

Translations

Slavic pagan or nationalist symbol

• Polish: swarozyca f, świąszczyca (pl) f, swarzyca f, kołowrót (pl) m
• Russian: коловра́т (ru) (kolovrát), коловоро́т (ru) m (kolovorót) (less often)
• Ukrainian: коловоро́т m (kolovorót)

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech kolovrat, from Proto-Slavic *kolovortъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkolovrat]

Noun

kolovrat m inan (diminutive kolovrátek)

1. spinning wheel (device for spinning thread with a wheel and a spindle)

Declension

Declension of kolovrat (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	kolovrat	kolovraty
genitive	kolovratu	kolovratů
dative	kolovratu	kolovratům
accusative	kolovrat	kolovraty
vocative	kolovrate	kolovraty
locative	kolovratě, kolovratu	kolovratech
instrumental	kolovratem	kolovraty

Further reading

• “kolovrat”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “kolovrat”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “kolovrat”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *kolovortъ; equivalent to kolo (“wheel”) +‎ vrat (“neck”).

Noun

kȍlovrȃt m (Cyrillic spelling ко̏ловра̑т)

1. spinning wheel
2. whirlpool

Declension

Declension of kolovrat

	singular	plural
nominative	kolovrat	kolovrati
genitive	kolovrata	kolovrata
dative	kolovratu	kolovratima
accusative	kolovrat	kolovrate
vocative	kolovrate	kolovrati
locative	kolovratu	kolovratima
instrumental	kolovratom	kolovratima

Adverb

kȍlovrȃt (Cyrillic spelling ко̏ловра̑т)

1. precipitously, head over heels

References

• “kolovrat”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025
• Pero Budmani, editor (1898–1903), “kȍlovrȃt”, in Rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika‎^[1] (in Serbo-Croatian), volume 5, Zagreb: JAZU, page 216

Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Old Slovak kolovrat, from Proto-Slavic *kolovortъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkɔlɔvrat]

Noun

kolovrat m inan (diminutive kolovrátok)

1. spinning wheel

Declension

Declension of kolovrat
(pattern dub)

	singular	plural
nominative	kolovrat	kolovraty
genitive	kolovratu	kolovratov
dative	kolovratu	kolovratom
accusative	kolovrat	kolovraty
locative	kolovrate	kolovratoch
instrumental	kolovratom	kolovratmi

Further reading

• “kolovrat”, 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, 2003–2025