# Cossack

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkɒsˌæk/ · frequency rank #36,936

## Definitions
1. A member or descendant of an originally (semi-)nomadic population of Eastern Europe and the adjacent parts of Asia, formed in part of runaways from neighbouring countries, that eventually settled in parts of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian tsarist Empire and constituted a military caste, particularly in areas now comprising southern Russia and Ukraine.
2. A member of a military unit (typically cavalry, originally recruited exclusively from the above).
3. A Ukrainian.
4. A mercenary, a violent thug: a regular or irregular soldier, police officer or security guard employed to persecute or oppress disfavoured groups, such as Jews or (striking) workers.

## Etymology
From Middle French cosaque, from Middle Polish Kozak, from , from Kipchak *qazaq (whence Armeno-Kipchak խազախ (xazax)), from Old Turkic 𐰴𐰔𐰍𐰸 (*qazǧaq, “profiteer”), from 𐰴𐰔𐰍𐰣𐰢𐰴 (qazǧanmaq, “to acquire”), from 𐰴𐰔𐰢𐰴 (qazmaq, “to dig out”), from Proto-Turkic *kaŕ-. Doublet of Kazakh. First appears c. 1587 in the writings of George Turberville.

## Common misspellings (9)
`ccossack`, `cosack`, `cosasck`, `cossacck`, `cossackk`, `cossakc`, `cosscak`, `csosack`, `ocssack`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/cossack