matryoshka

English

matryoshka

Etymology

From Russian матрёшка (matrjóška), from personal name Матрёна (Matrjóna), formerly Матрона (Matrona), ultimately from Latin mātrōna (“matron”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌmætɹɪˈɒʃkə/, (US) IPA^(key): /ˌmɑtɹiˈoʊʃkə/
• Hyphenation: ma‧try‧osh‧ka

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

matryoshka (plural matryoshkas or matryoshki)

1. One of a set of wooden Russian dolls of different sizes, designed such that each fits inside the next. [from 20th c.]

   Synonyms: babushka doll, Russian doll, matryoshka doll

   • 2011, Norman Davies, Vanished Kingdoms, Penguin, page 35:

     The past is not only a foreign country that we half knew existed; it is hiding another concealed country behind it, and behind that one, another, and another – like a set of Russian matryoshki, in which larger dolls conceal smaller.

Derived terms

• Matrioshka brain

Translations

Russian doll — see Russian doll

Further reading

• Matryoshka doll on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Portuguese

Noun

matryoshka f (plural matryoshkas)

1. Alternative spelling of matrioshka