самоед

• IPA^(key): [səmɐˈjet]

Probably from Sami *saam-edne (“land of the people”); compare to Finnish Suomi (“Finn”).

Russian folk etymology derives the term from само- (samo-, “self”) +‎ есть (jestʹ, “to eat”), literally “self-eater”.

самое́д • (samojéd) m anim (genitive самое́да, nominative plural самое́ды, genitive plural самое́дов, feminine самое́дка, relational adjective самое́дский)

1. (dated, sometimes offensive) (in the narrow sense) a Nenets

   Synonym: не́нец (nénec)

2. (dated, sometimes offensive) (in the wide sense) a Samoyed (a member of any Samoyedic ethnic group)

   Synonym: самоди́ец (samodíjec)

3. a Samoyed (dog)

   Synonyms: самое́дская соба́ка (samojédskaja sobáka), самое́дская ла́йка (samojédskaja lájka)

• Replaced by the modern neutral term самоди́ец (samodíjec) in the late 1930s.
• Sometimes seen as offensive due to the literal Russian reading of the word (“self-eater”, with the possible implication “cannibal”).

• → English: Samoyed
• Norwegian Bokmål: samojed

From само- (samo-, “self”) +‎ -ед (-ed, “eater”), literally “self-eater”.

самое́д • (samojéd) m anim (genitive самое́да, nominative plural самое́ды, genitive plural самое́дов, relational adjective самое́дский)

1. (colloquial) a self-critical, self-deprecating, excessively introspective person

• самое́дство (samojédstvo)

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “самоед”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “Samoyed”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Самоед”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.