soviet

[soh-vee-et, -it, soh-vee-et] /ˈsoʊ viˌɛt, -ɪt, ˌsoʊ viˈɛt/

noun

(before the revolution) any governmental council.
(after the revolution) a local council, originally elected only by manual workers, with certain powers of local administration.
(after the revolution) a higher council elected by a local council, being part of a hierarchy of soviets culminating in the Supreme Soviet.

any similar council or assembly connected with a socialistic governmental system elsewhere.

(initial capital letter). Often, Soviets. a governing official or person living in the Soviet Union:

The Soviets have denied our charge.

adjective

of or pertaining to a soviet.

(initial capital letter) of the Soviet Union:

a Soviet statesman.

Origin

1915-20; < Russian sovét council, counsel, advice, Old Russian, OCS sŭvětŭ, equivalent to sŭ- together, with + větŭ counsel; calque of Greek symboúlion

Related forms

sovietdom

[soh-vee-et-duh m, -it-, soh-vee-et-] /ˈsoʊ viˌɛt dəm, -ɪt-, ˌsoʊ viˈɛt-/ (Show IPA), noun

anti-Soviet, noun, adjective

pro-Soviet, adjective

Examples from the web for soviet

soviet planners relocated entire peoples, to reward or punish.
soviet central planners mandated quotas for steel production, regardless of demand.
soviet doctors called it psychiatry, but sometimes it seemed decidedly unscientific.
soviet strategists reached strikingly similar conclusions.
Under the soviet government people benefited from some social liberalization.
Information on many of the soviet projects is largely unavailable.
Decisive experiments of soviet scientists radio communication among insects.
It was the first soviet nuclear submarine equipped with ballistic nuclear missiles.
soviet industry was usually divided into two major categories.
In the soviet navy, cruisers formed the basis of their combat groups.

British Dictionary definitions for soviet

soviet

/ˈsəʊvɪət; ˈsɒv-/

noun

(in the former Soviet Union) an elected government council at the local, regional, and national levels, which culminated in the Supreme Soviet

(in prerevolutionary Russia) a local revolutionary council

adjective

of or relating to a soviet

Word Origin

C20: from Russian sovyet council, from Old Russian sŭvĕtŭ

Soviet

/ˈsəʊvɪət; ˈsɒv-/

adjective

of, characteristic of, or relating to the former Soviet Union, its people, or its government

Word Origin and History for soviet

1917, from Russian sovet "governing council," literally "council," from Old Russian suvetu "assembly," from su "with" (from *su(n)- "with, together," from PIE *ksun- "with") + vetu "counsel." The whole is a loan-translation of Greek symboulion "council of advisers." As an adjective from 1918.