Samoyed
- Noun:
- A breed of dog: A Siberian breed of white or cream-colored dog of the spitz family, characterized by a thick, double coat, a curled tail, and a friendly disposition.
- A language family: The Uralic languages spoken by certain peoples in northwestern Siberia.
- A member of an ethnic group: A person belonging to indigenous groups in northwestern Siberia who speak Samoyedic languages.
Noun (Dog breed): The Samoyed is known for its "smile" and gentle nature.They decided to adopt a fluffy Samoyed puppy.
Noun (Language): Nenets is one of the surviving Samoyed languages.Linguists study the Samoyed group within the Uralic family.
Noun (Ethnic group member): The Samoyed have traditionally lived as reindeer herders.Anthropologists documented the culture of the Samoyed peoples.
- As an attributive noun: Used before another noun to describe something related to the people, languages, or dogs.
Samoyedic (adjective): Pertaining to the Samoyed peoples or languages. The Samoyedic tribes have a rich oral history.
Samoyed dog: A full compound term specifying the animal breed to avoid ambiguity.
- Samoyede: An alternative, less common spelling for the dog breed or ethnic group.
- Siberian spitz: A descriptive term for the dog breed.
The meaning of "Samoyed" is highly context-dependent. In everyday English, it most commonly refers to the dog breed. In academic contexts (linguistics, anthropology), it refers to the peoples or language family. The term for the peoples is sometimes considered dated or external; many groups now prefer their specific self-designations (e.g., Nenets, Selkup).
- Siberian breed of white or cream-colored dog of the spitz family
- the Uralic languages spoken by the Samoyed in northwestern Siberia
- a Samoyedic-speaking person in northwestern Siberia