Ruthenian

American  

[roo-thee-nee-uhn, -theen-yuhn] / ruˈθi ni ən, -ˈθin yən /

adjective

1. Also Ruthene of or relating to the inhabitants of Ruthenia, Galicia, and neighboring regions.

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noun

1. one of the Ruthenian people.

2. the dialect of Ukrainian spoken in Ruthenia.

3. a member of a former Orthodox religious group that entered into communion with the Roman Catholic Church in 1596 and became the “Uniate Church of the Little Russians.”

Ruthenian British  

/ ruːˈθiːnɪən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Ruthenia, its people, or their dialect of Ukrainian

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noun

1. a dialect of Ukrainian

2. a native or inhabitant of Ruthenia

Etymology

Origin of Ruthenian

First recorded in 1840–50; Rutheni(a) + -an

Example Sentences

In its eastern and southeastern regions, the union’s dominant languages were Polish and Ruthenian, the predecessor to modern-day Ukrainian and Belarusian.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 21, 2022

Warhol’s parents both spoke Ruthenian, and the artist understood it enough to use it in 1980, when he met Pope John Paul II, who knew the language from his upbringing in southern Poland.

From New York Times • Oct. 7, 2018

Traditional dress is embroidered with distinctive diamond shapes in earthy tones while their dialect is a swirl of old Ruthenian, Romanian, Magyar, and their own esoteric expressions.

From Slate • Oct. 31, 2016

The Ruthenian rite is one of 17 semi-autonomous branches of Catholicism that acknowledge the Pope as head of the church but have their own non-Latin customs and liturgies.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Tsar, Alexander II., shows in his treatment of his Ruthenian subjects of the united Greek Church, that he is wholly unworthy of the reputation for enlightenment and benevolence with which he has been credited.

From Pius IX. And His Time by Dawson, Æneas MacDonell