kharkiv
/ˈxɑɹkiv/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.93 in modern English
21
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
An industrial city, the administrative centre of Kharkiv Raion, Kharkiv Oblast, in eastern Ukraine.
name
Ellipsis of 9167 Kharkiv: an asteroid in Asteroid Belt, Solar System.
Example Sentences
- "As a schoolboy in the Soviet Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv, (it was then spelled Kharkov in line with the all-permeating ‘Russification’), I was a railway buff."
- "But Ukraine claimed its forces had shot down one of these drones for the first time last month near the city of Kupyansk in Kharkiv."
- "The Russian military command likely chose the seizure of Vovchansk as one of the key tactical objectives of the first phase of the offensive operation in northern Kharkiv Oblast, since Vovchansk is the largest settlement immediately on the border that would provide Russian forces a staging ground close to the Russian rear to prepare for and launch the second phase of the Russian offensive operation."
- "We switch to the developments along the front line and, uh, the Ukrainians are reporting that the Russians do reconnaissance forces… send reconnaissance forces over the border in Chernihiv, in Sumy, as well as in Kharkiv, so basically along the whole northern border."
Etymology
From Ukrainian Ха́рків (Xárkiv), from Old Ruthenian Ха́рьковъ (Xárʹkov) (compare Russian Ха́рьков (Xárʹkov), whence English Kharkov). The city is named after the Kharkiv River. A folk etymology says the city and river are named after a Cossack called Харко́ (Xarkó), from Харько́ (Xarʹkó), from Greek Χαρίτων (Charíton), but there is no hard evidence supporting this.
Word Breakdown
- Root: Ха́рків, Ха́рьковъ
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈxɑɹkiv/
- British English: /ˈxɑːkiːv/
Inflected Forms
Khar'kov (alternative)
Kharkov (alternative)
Char'kov (alternative)
Charkov (alternative)
Har'kov (alternative)
Harkov (alternative)