definitions

chernozem

[ chur-nuh-zem, chair-; Russian chyir-nuh-zyawm ]
/ ˈtʃɜr nəˌzɛm, ˈtʃɛər-; Russian tʃyɪr nʌˈzyɔm /
|

noun

a soil common in cool or temperate semiarid climates, very black and rich in humus and carbonates.

Nearby words

cherkess autonomous region, chernenko, chernigov, chernobyl, chernovtsy, chernozem, cherokee, cherokee rose, cherokees, cheroot, cherries jubilee

Origin of chernozem

1835–45; < Russian chernozëm, equivalent to chërn(yĭ) black + -o- -o- + -zëm, variant, in compounds, of zemlyá earth, land; see humus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for chernozem

  • About 20 percent of the agricultural land is of the chernozem type.

    Area Handbook for Romania|Eugene K. Keefe, Donald W. Bernier, Lyle E. Brenneman, William Giloane, James M. Moore, and Neda A. Walpole

  • Chernozem soils predominate, and the seasonal distribution of rainfall is more propitious than in Walachia.

    Area Handbook for Romania|Eugene K. Keefe, Donald W. Bernier, Lyle E. Brenneman, William Giloane, James M. Moore, and Neda A. Walpole

British Dictionary definitions for chernozem

chernozem

tschernosem

/ (ˈtʃɜːnəʊˌzɛm) /

noun

a black soil, rich in humus and carbonates, in cool or temperate semiarid regions, as the grasslands of Russia

Word Origin for chernozem

from Russian, contraction of chernaya zemlya black earth
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012