slav Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun any member of the people of eastern Europe or Asian Russia who speak a Slavonic language
  2. adjective speaking a Slavic language
    • the Slav population of Georgia

WordNet

Slav noun
Etymology
A word originally meaning, intelligible, and used to contrast the people so called with foreigners who spoke languages unintelligible to the Slavs; akin to OSlav. slovo a word, slava fame, Skr. &cced;ru to hear. Cf. Loud.
Wordforms
plural Slavs
Definitions
  1. (Ethnol.) One of a race of people occupying a large part of Eastern and Northern Europe, including the Russians, Bulgarians, Roumanians, Servo-Croats, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Wends or Sorbs, Slovaks, etc. Written also Slave, and Sclav.

Webster 1913