babushka

4 synonyms for babushka, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — A Russian grandmother, or an elderly Russian woman.

Synonyms

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

grandmother granny

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

headscarf kerchief

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

A Russian grandmother, or an elderly Russian woman.

“The babushkas sat on the bench outside the block all afternoon.”

grandmother granny

2. noun

A headscarf folded into a triangle and tied under the chin.

“She pulled a babushka over her hair before stepping into the wind.”

headscarf kerchief

How to use babushka

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

old babushka babushka scarf tied in a babushka

The headscarf sense is chiefly American and is unknown in Russian, where the word only means grandmother. Stress in Russian falls on the first syllable, BAH-boosh-kuh, though English speakers usually stress the second.

Etymology

From Russian babushka 'grandmother', a diminutive of baba 'old woman'.

Full origin of babushka →

Frequently asked questions

Does babushka mean grandmother or headscarf?

In Russian it means only grandmother. English picked up the second meaning because of the headscarves associated with older Russian women, so in American English a babushka can also be the scarf itself.

Are babushka dolls and matryoshka dolls the same thing?

They are the same object under two names, but only matryoshka is correct in Russian. Babushka doll is an English nickname that arose from the grandmotherly figure painted on the outermost doll.

People also searched

grandmother granny headscarf kerchief

Nearby words

← Back to the full definition of babushka