White Russian meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

White Russian

adj

Etymology (cocktail): The word white refers to the milk, while Russian refers to the vodka.

Of or relating to Russians with tsarist or anti-Soviet sympathies in the period directly following the Revolution in 1917.

The overseer of the clinic was a White Russian woman, a nun, formerly of the Russian Orthodox community in Jerusalem, but a good-hearted woman. In these cases, we should not be too scrupulous politically, said the priest.1979, John Le Carré, Smiley's People, Folio Society, published 2010, page 340:

Obsolete Of or relating to Belarus, literally "White Russia", or its language.

Synonyms: Belarusan, Belarusian, Belorussian, Bielorussian, Byelorussian
Coordinate terms: Great Russian, Little Russian

White Russian

noun

Etymology (cocktail): The word white refers to the milk, while Russian refers to the vodka.

A cocktail consisting of coffee liqueur, vodka, and milk.

Few cocktails include milk and cream, so the White Russian is a welcome departure from the norm. Already a popular drink in its own right, the White Russian was made famous by Jeff Bridges’ character in “The Big Lebowski.”2015, Shane Carley, The Mason Jar Cocktail Companion, Cider Mill Press, →ISBN, page 15:

Historical A White Guardist, a Russian who did not support the Socialists in the Revolution in 1917 and the Russian Civil War (1917–1923), and afterwards (e.g. as a White émigré).

The White Guard colony in Harbin is armed and organized along military lines. At the head of this army of counter-revolution—the shock troops of Japanese imperialism—stands the notorious tsarist bandit, "Ataman" Semionov.[1935, Leon Dennen, White Guard Terrorists in the U.S.A., New York City: Friends of the Soviet Union, page 18:

Obsolete A Belarusian person.

Coordinate terms: Great Russian, Little Russian, Black Russian