babushka

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English

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Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian ба́бушка (bábuška, “grandmother, granny”), diminutive of ба́ба (bába, “old woman”).

Pronunciation

  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /bəˈbuːʃ.kə/
  • Audio (UK):(file)

Noun

babushka (plural babushkas or babushki)

  1. An old woman.
    1. A stereotypical Eastern European peasant grandmother type figure
  2. A woman’s headscarf, tied under the chin.
    • 1966 March, Thomas Pynchon, chapter 5, in The Crying of Lot 49, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC, 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 […].
  3. Russian doll, matryoshka

Coordinate terms

Translations

Usage notes

  • Note that the Russian term ба́бушка (bábuška, “grandmother, granny; old woman”) doesn't have the sense "Russian doll, matryoshka" or "woman’s headscarf".
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