kopeck

Or ko·pek,

[koh-pek]

noun

1. an aluminum-bronze coin of Russia, the Soviet Union, and its successor states, one 100th of a ruble.

kopeck

/ ˈkəʊpɛk /

noun

1. a monetary unit of Russia and Belarus worth one hundredth of a rouble: coins are still used as tokens for coin-operated machinery although the kopeck itself is virtually valueless

Word History and Origins

Origin of kopeck¹

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Russian kopéĭka, equivalent to kopʾë “lance, spear” + -ka diminutive suffix; so called from the lance with which the figure on the coin was armed

Word History and Origins

Origin of kopeck¹

Russian kopeika, from kopye lance; so called because of the representation of Tsar Ivan IV on the coin with a lance in his hand

Example Sentences

He vowed to continue his fight, “despite the fact that I am under the control of people who like to smear everything with chemical weapons, and no one will give three kopecks for my life.”

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“We have received nothing. Not a ruble, not a kopeck,” they chanted.

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“All this fuss about spies and counterspies is not worth interstate relations. This spy story, as we say here, is not worth 5 kopecks,” Putin told the Financial Times in an interview in the Kremlin.

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“Those who earned even one black kopeck by exploiting the army and the war will sit in prison for life,” she said at a Thursday news conference, adding that Poroshenko “simply laundered defense money.”

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“There is no proof that Kirill put so much as a kopeck into his own pocket,” he said.

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