Etymology Map
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Borzoi

2 stages from Russian to English.

Today it means a tall, slender Russian wolfhound

Where does the word "borzoi" come from? It comes from Russian borzoi, adopted directly into English (1880s).

1
Stage 1 of 2
borzoi
Russian · 1600s
"swift (hound)"
from borzyi 'swift'; Russian nobles hunted wolves with borzoi packs, as in the Rostovs' wolf hunt in Tolstoy's War and Peace (1869)
2
Stage 2 of 2
borzoi
English · 1880s
"Russian wolfhound"
the breed reached British dog shows in the 1880s; the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, founded in 1915, made a leaping borzoi its famous emblem
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Read the full story

Borzoi’s story begins in Russian: borzoi meant “swift (hound).” From borzyi 'swift'; Russian nobles hunted wolves with borzoi packs, as in the Rostovs' wolf hunt in Tolstoy's War and Peace (1869). It reached English by 1880s as borzoi. The breed reached British dog shows in the 1880s; the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, founded in 1915, made a leaping borzoi its famous emblem. Today, borzoi means a tall, slender Russian wolfhound.