nomenklatura

[noh-muh n-klah-too r-uh]

noun, plural no·men·kla·tu·ras.

a select list or class of people from which appointees for top-level government positions are drawn, especially from a Communist Party.

Origin of nomenklatura

First recorded in 1980–85, nomenklatura is from the Russian word nomenklatúra literally, nomenclature

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for nomenklatura

Contemporary Examples of nomenklatura

Indeed, some in the nomenklatura claim that Castro never married Dalia.
Castro Family Values
A. L. Bardach
September 20, 2009

British Dictionary definitions for nomenklatura

nomenklatura

noun

(formerly, in the USSR and E Europe) a list of individuals drawn up by the Communist Party from which were selected candidates for vacant senior positions in the state, party, and other important organizations

Word Origin for nomenklatura

C20: Russian, from Latin nōmenclātūra list of names

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 nomenklatura

Russian, literally "a listing of positions to be filled," from Latin nomenclatura (see nomenclature).