How the Dictionaries of the Ukrainian Language in 11 and 20 Volumes Contribute to the Russification of Ukrainian Medical Terminology

Oleksandra Tomashevska

Information about the author:  

Doctor of medical sciences, professor, professor, Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2164-9285

e-mail: le.tomash@gmail.com

Yevhen Dzis 

Information about the author:  

Doctor of medical sciences, professor, professor, Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2064-4957

e-mail: yevhendzis@gmail.com

Title: How the Dictionaries of the Ukrainian Language in 11 and 20 Volumes Contribute to the Russification of Ukrainian Medical Terminology

https://doi.org/10.37919/2221-8807-2025-8-21

Rubric: Natural Sciences

Abstract: The present article analyzes several dictionary entries from the Dictionaries of the Ukrainian Language in 11 and 20 volumes, title words of which relate to medical terminology. The analysis focuses on Russianisms, given that a significant number of words in these Dictionaries are of Russian origin and have been adopted into the Ukrainian language through calques or direct borrowings from the Russian language. These Russian loanwords are not present in earlier Ukrainian dictionaries published before 1933. The studied Dictionaries of the Ukrainian Language provide specific Ukrainian synonyms for such words, many of which are marked as outdated, dialectal, rarely used, or colloquial. However, in the majority of cases, these synonyms are specific words that correspond to the lexical and semantic rules of the Ukrainian language, and they must replace Russianisms. Consequently, there is a necessity for comprehensive work to eliminate Russianisms from the Ukrainian medical terminology and the Ukrainian language in general.

Keywords: Ukrainian language, medical terminology, dictionaries, Russianisms.

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