balalaika
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of balalaika
1780–90; < Russian balaláĭka, equivalent to balalaĭ-, probably originally a v. base, akin to balabólitʾ, balákatʾ chatter, talk nonsense (compare Russian dial., Ukrainian balabáĭka balalaika), expressive derivatives of Slavic *bay- speak, tell, akin to fate, -phasia + -ka noun suffix
Vocabulary lists containing balalaika
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The letters showed that Navalny asked for an eclectic range of items, including, variously, a bottle of moonshine, a balalaika, a staff, two pouches of cheap tobacco, a kimono and a black belt.
From Reuters ● Jun. 2, 2023
The walls were painted with Soviet-era cartoons — a wolf with an accordion, a donkey with a balalaika, and a bear in a vyshyvanka, a traditional Ukrainian costume.
From New York Times ● Mar. 3, 2022
There were Russian balalaika groups, political advertisers, choral singers and, on a recent Sunday, a spoken-word Shakespeare sonnet.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 3, 2021
If I go to Russia, people associate it with the balalaika; in Greece, it's the bouzouki; in the Middle East, the oud.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2016
"I am very fond of balalaika music," I said.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
