Menshevik

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian меньшеви́к (menʹševík), derived from меньшинство́ (menʹšinstvó, “minority”), formed in turn from Russian ме́ньше (ménʹše), the comparative of ма́лый (mályj, “little”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmɛnʃəvɪk/

Noun

Menshevik (plural Mensheviks or Mensheviki)

1. (now chiefly historical) A member of the gradualist or moderate wing of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party during the years preceding the Russian Revolution, when they split with the Bolsheviks; or a member of a later independent moderate-Marxist party formed in 1917. [from 20th c.]
   • 1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber 2003, page 259:

     ‘Better an ultra-leftist than a Menshevik,’ said Rosa Kaletsky.

   • 2015 October 28, Ted Cruz, quotee, “Transcript: Read the Full Text of the CNBC Republican Debate in Boulder”, in Time‎^[1]:

     Let me be clear. The men and women on this stage have more ideas, more experience, more common sense than every participant in the Democratic debate. That debate reflected a debate between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks.

Translations

member of a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement

• Armenian: մենշեւիկ (hy) (menšewik)
• Belarusian: меншаві́к m (mjenšavík)
• Bulgarian: меншеви́к (bg) m (menševík)
• Catalan: menxevic m or f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 孟什維克／孟什维克 (zh) (mèngshíwéikè)

• Czech: menševik m
• Danish: mensjevik c
• Esperanto: menŝeviko
• Finnish: menševikki (fi), menshevikki
• French: menchevik (fr) m
• Georgian: მენშევიკი (menševiḳi)
• German: Menschewik m, Menschewikin f
• Japanese: メンシェヴィキ (mensheviki)
• Korean: 멘셰비키 (mensyebiki)
• Polish: mienszewik m
• Portuguese: menchevique (pt) m or f
• Russian: меньшеви́к (ru) m (menʹševík), меньшеви́чка (ru) f (menʹševíčka)
• Spanish: menchevique m or f
• Swedish: mensjevik c
• Ukrainian: меншови́к m (menšovýk)

See also

• Bolshevik