katsap

English

Etymology

From Ukrainian каца́п (kacáp). Either from Ukrainian цап (cap, “billy goat”) with a prefix ка- (ka-), thus invoking an image of a stereotypical Russian man with a goatee beard, or from Turkish kasap, from Arabic قَصَّاب (qaṣṣāb), meaning "butcher", "slaughterer".

Noun

katsap (plural katsaps)

1. (ethnic slur, derogatory) a Russian, especially from Ukrainian perspective
   • 2012, Amir Weiner, Making Sense of War: The Second World War and the Fate of the Bolshevik Revolution, page 247:

     In the short run, the katsap peril was even more concrete.

See also

• Russki
• Rusky

Usage notes

Not fully naturalized, often used in italics.