bol'shak

English

Etymology

Russian больша́к (bolʹšák)

Noun

bol'shak (plural bol'shaks)

1. (historical) The head of a Russian peasant household; a family patriarch.
   • 1996, Orlando Figes, A People's Tragedy, Folio Society, published 2013, page 112:

     If the bol'shak mismanaged the family farm, or was too often drunk and violent, the commune could replace him under customary law with another household member.

   • 2002, Michel Verdon, Rethinking Households, page 95:

     Let us imagine an elderly bol'shak with two married sons, the elder of which has three married sons, and the younger only one.