Samoyed

American  

[sam-uh-yed, suh-moi-id] / ˌsæm əˈyɛd, səˈmɔɪ ɪd /

noun

1. a member of a Uralic people dwelling in W Siberia and the far NE parts of European Russia.

2. Also a subfamily of Uralic languages spoken by the Samoyed people.

3. (sometimes lowercase) one of a Russian breed of medium-sized dogs that have long, dense, white or cream hair and are used by the Samoyed people for herding reindeer and pulling sleds.

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Samoyed British  

/ ˌsæməˈjɛd /

noun

1. a member of a group of peoples who migrated along the Russian Arctic coast and now live chiefly in the area of the N Urals: related to the Finns

2. the languages of these peoples, related to Finno-Ugric within the Uralic family

3. a Siberian breed of dog of the spitz type, having a dense white or cream coat with a distinct ruff, and a tightly curled tail

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Other Word Forms

• Samoyedic adjective

Etymology

Origin of Samoyed

First recorded in 1580–90, Samoyed is from the Russian word samoyéd