Meaning & use
babushka
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Meanings
nouncountableAmerican
A triangular scarf folded and tied under the chin, traditionally worn by older women in Eastern Europe.
Grammar: Countable: a babushka, two babushkas.
Patterns
- wear a babushka
She tied a floral babushka over her hair against the wind.
The costume came with a red babushka.
My aunt kept a silk babushka in her coat pocket.
nouncountableinformal
An older woman in Russia or neighboring countries, or a grandmother, especially one seen as kindly or traditional.
Grammar: Countable; used as a title or as a noun for an older woman.
Patterns
- a babushka from somewhere
A babushka sold pickles at the railway station.
The babushka on the bench fed the pigeons every morning.
He visited his babushka every summer in the village.
Word forms
| plural | babushkas |
|---|
Common combinations
- wear a babushka
- She liked to wear a babushka in the garden.
- tie a babushka
- Tie the babushka tightly under your chin.
- a village babushka
- A village babushka waved from her doorstep.
- a floral babushka
- A floral babushka brightened her plain coat.
- babushka doll
- The shop sells a babushka doll in a set of five.
Synonyms and how they differ
- headscarf
- Headscarf is the general English word for any cloth worn on the head, while babushka names the style tied under the chin.
- kerchief
- Kerchief is a square cloth worn over hair or around the neck, similar to a babushka but without the Russian association.
- granny
- Granny is an affectionate English word for a grandmother, while babushka brings a Russian cultural flavor.
- grandmother
- Grandmother is the neutral family term, whereas babushka is also used for any older woman.
Word family
- matryoshka noun
- a set of nesting wooden dolls, sometimes called babushka dolls
- baba noun
- a related Slavic word for an old woman
- babushkas noun
- the plural form
Commonly confused: babushka or matryoshka?
babushka vs matryoshka
A matryoshka is a nesting doll, while a babushka is a scarf or an older woman, although the dolls are sometimes called babushka dolls.
Practice
In English, the word babushka most commonly refers to:
Choose one answer.
In English, babushka most often means the scarf tied under the chin. The nesting doll is a matryoshka, so that option is tempting but wrong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “babushka”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.