babushka

Where does the word "babushka" come from? It comes from Russian babushka, and was adopted directly into English (1930s).

Babushka’s story begins in Russian: babushka meant “grandmother, or a headscarf.” Literally little grandmother, also the headscarf grandmothers typically wore. It reached English by 1930s as babushka. First appeared in English in an 1834 translation of M. N. Zagoskin's Russian novel 'The Young Muscovite'; the headscarf sense came in the 1930s. Today, babushka means a triangular headscarf tied under the chin, or an old Russian woman.

1. Stage 1 · Russian · 1800s babushka "grandmother, or a headscarf", literally little grandmother, also the headscarf grandmothers typically wore.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1930s babushka "a triangular headscarf tied under the chin", first appeared in English in an 1834 translation of M. N. Zagoskin's Russian novel 'The Young Muscovite'; the headscarf sense came in the 1930s.