пацан

Russian

Etymology

Borrowed from Ukrainian пацан (pacan) during Soviet era, see more there.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [pɐˈt͡san]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

паца́н • (pacán) m anim (genitive пацана́, nominative plural пацаны́, genitive plural пацано́в, female equivalent паца́нка, relational adjective паца́нский, collective пацанва́, diminutive пацанёнок, pejorative collective пацаньё)

1. (colloquial) boy, kid, lad, fella (referring to a boy or a young man; can be used as a term of address)
2. (criminal slang) gang member

Declension

Declension of паца́н (anim masc-form hard-stem accent-b) 

	singular	plural
nominative	паца́н pacán	пацаны́ pacaný
genitive	пацана́ pacaná	пацано́в pacanóv
dative	пацану́ pacanú	пацана́м pacanám
accusative	пацана́ pacaná	пацано́в pacanóv
instrumental	пацано́м pacanóm	пацана́ми pacanámi
prepositional	пацане́ pacané	пацана́х pacanáx

Derived terms

• пацанва́ (pacanvá)
• пацанёнок m anim (pacanjónok)
• паца́нка f anim (pacánka)
• паца́нский (pacánskij), по-паца́нски (po-pacánski), паца́нство n (pacánstvo)

Descendants

• → Polish: pacan

References

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “пацан”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Šanskij, N. M. (2004), “пацан”, in Školʹnyj etimologičeskij slovarʹ russkovo jazyka [School Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Drofa

Further reading

• Dal, Vladimir (1880–1882), “пац”, in Толковый Словарь живаго великорускаго языка [Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language] (in Russian), 2nd edition, Publication of the bookseller-typographer Wolf, M. O.
• Dal, Vladimir (1880–1882), “пацю-пацю”, in Толковый Словарь живаго великорускаго языка [Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language] (in Russian), 2nd edition, Publication of the bookseller-typographer Wolf, M. O.

Ukrainian

Etymology

From an unidentified form; presumably Ukrainian пацю́к (pacjúk, “piglet, rat”), with the expressive suffix -ан (-an).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [pɐˈt͡san]

Noun

паца́н • (pacán) m pers (genitive пацана́, nominative plural пацани́, genitive plural пацані́в)

1. (colloquial) boy, kid, lad, fella (referring to a boy or a young man; can be used as a term of address)

   Synonym: хлопча́к (xlopčák)

2. (criminal slang) gang member

Declension

Declension of паца́н
(pers hard masc-form accent-b)

	singular	plural
nominative	паца́н pacán	пацани́ pacaný
genitive	пацана́ pacaná	пацані́в pacanív
dative	пацано́ві, пацану́ pacanóvi, pacanú	пацана́м pacanám
accusative	пацана́ pacaná	пацані́в pacanív
instrumental	пацано́м pacanóm	пацана́ми pacanámy
locative	пацано́ві, пацані́ pacanóvi, pacaní	пацана́х pacanáx
vocative	паца́не pacáne	пацани́ pacaný

Derived terms

• пацанва́ (pacanvá)
• паца́нка (pacánka)
• пацаня́ (pacanjá)

References

• Bilodid, I. K., editor (1970–1980), “пацан”, in Словник української мови: в 11 т. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: in 11 vols] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka
• Shyrokov, V. A., editor (2010–2025), “пацан”, in Словник української мови: у 20 т. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: in 20 vols] (in Ukrainian), volumes 1–15 (а – п'ять), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka; Ukrainian Lingua-Information Fund, →ISBN
• Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1982–2012), “пацан”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka