Samoyed

See also: samoyed

English

From Russian самое́д (samojéd), probably from Sami *saam-edne (“land of the people”); compare Finnish Suomi (“Finn”).^[1]^[2] In the course of borrowing, the word was folk-etymologically reinterpreted as сам (sam, “self, own”) + есть, ед- (jestʹ, jed-, “eat”), "self-eater."^[3]

Samoyed (plural Samoyeds or Samoyed)

(anthropology) A member of the Samoyedic peoples of the Siberian Urals, who speak Samoyedic languages.
- 1613, Samuel Purchas, “[Asia.] Of other Northerne people adioyning to the Tartars.”, in Purchas His Pilgrimage. Or Relations of the World and the Religions Observed in All Ages and Places Discouered, from the Creation vnto this Present. […], London: […] William Stansby for Henrie Fetherstone, […], →OCLC, book IV (Of the Armenians, Medes, Persians, Parthians, Scythians, Tartarians, Chinois, and of Their Religions), page 363:
  The Samoyeds are Idolaters and Witches, obſeruing diuelliſh ſuperſtitions
(zoology) A hardy breed of dog from Siberia.
Synonyms: Sammie (nickname), Sammy (nickname), Smiley (nickname)

Samoyed

(anthropology) Of or pertaining to this people.
- 1984, Gary Jennings, The Journeyer, page 378:
  some Samoyed musicians performed pieces of similar cacophony on an assortment of instruments - hand drums and finger cymbals and pipes resembling our fagotto and dulzaina.

person

Catalan: samoiede m, samoieda f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 薩莫耶德人 / 萨莫耶德人 (sàmòyédérén), 薩摩耶人 / 萨摩耶人 (sàmóyérén)
Czech: Samojed (cs) m
Finnish: samojedi (fi)
French: Samoyède (fr) sg
Japanese: サモエード人 (ja) (samoēdojin), サモイェード (samoyēdo)
Polish: samojed m anim
Russian: самоди́ец (ru) m (samodíjec), не́нец (ru) m (nénec), самое́д (ru) m (samojéd) (dated)
Spanish: samoyedo (es)

dog

Catalan: samoiede m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 薩摩耶 / 萨摩耶 (zh) (sàmóyē), 薩摩耶犬 / 萨摩耶犬 (zh) (sàmóyēquǎn)
Czech: samojed (cs) m
Finnish: samojedi (fi), samojedinkoira (fi)
French: samoyède (fr) sg
Japanese: サモエド犬 (samoedoken)
Macedonian: самојед m (samojed)
Malay: anjing Samoyed
Polish: Samojed m pers, Samojedka f
Russian: самое́д (ru) m (samojéd), самое́дская ла́йка f (samojédskaja lájka), самое́дская соба́ка f (samojédskaja sobáka)
Spanish: samoyedo (es)

^ Andrei V. Golovnev and Gail Osherenko, "Siberian Survival: The Nenets and Their Story," Cornell University, 1999
^ James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Samoyed”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.
^ Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “Samoyed”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.