duma

[doo-muh]

noun

(in Russia prior to 1917) a council or official assembly.

(initial capital letter) an elective legislative assembly, established in 1905 by Nicholas II, constituting the lower house of parliament.

Also douma.

Origin of duma

1865–70; < Russian, Old Russian dúma assembly, council (an early homonym with dúma thought); cognate with Bulgarian dúma word, Slovak duma meditation; Slavic *dum- probably < Gothic dōms judgment (see doom)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for duma

Contemporary Examples of duma

“It is not dissimilar from Putin using the Duma to ratify his annexation of the Crimea,” he said.
Britain’s PM Cameron And His Awful Assault on Human Rights Court
Nico Hines
October 3, 2014
Last April, shortly after annexation, the Duma voted for the law allowing gaming zones in Crimea.
Putin's Crimea Is a Big Anti-Gay Casino
Anna Nemtsova
September 8, 2014
Deputies were full of optimism: sanctions would help to make the Russian economy healthier, Duma members concluded on Wednesday.
Is Putin About to Blink?
Anna Nemtsova
July 30, 2014
“Our relationship with the U.S. has been growing colder and colder,” said the Duma deputy, Robert Schlegel.
Cold Shoulder for Obama
Anna Nemtsova
September 4, 2013
Omar and Fouzi are from the West Bank village of Duma, 13 miles southeast of Nablus.
Palestinian Children: The Invisible Workers of Israeli Settlements
Dina Elmuti
August 28, 2013

Historical Examples of duma

If he reveals to the Duma what he knows, then everything must be lost.
The Minister of Evil
William Le Queux
The Empress, on hearing what had happened in the Duma, had a fit of hysterics.
The Minister of Evil
William Le Queux
Yet he is dangerous, and if he denounces us in the Duma it will come as a bombshell.
The Minister of Evil
William Le Queux
Even from the tribune of the Duma it was declared that the Black Cabinet was a fiction.
The Minister of Evil
William Le Queux
If thou wilt not postpone the Duma, then the peril will be upon thine own head!
The Minister of Evil
William Le Queux

British Dictionary definitions for duma

duma

douma

noun Russian history

(usually capital) the elective legislative assembly established by Tsar Nicholas II in 1905: overthrown by the Bolsheviks in 1917

(before 1917) any official assembly or council

short for State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian parliament

Word Origin for duma

C20: from duma thought, of Germanic origin; related to Gothic dōms judgment

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

Word Origin and History for duma

Russian national assembly, 1870 (in reference to city councils; the national one was set up in 1905), literally "thought," from a Germanic source (cf. Gothic doms "judgment," English doom, deem).