Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An administrative territorial division within Russia and other former Soviet republics, including Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A region or province.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Russian oblast', from Old Church Slavonic oblastĭ : ob, on; see epi in Indo-European roots + vlastĭ, power; see wal- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From a Slavic language, probably Russian область (óblast’, "region, province"), borrowed from Old Church Slavonic область (oblast’), from Proto-Slavic *obolstь, from earlier Proto-Slavic *obvolstь, *obvoldtь, a compound of *o(b)- (“over”) + *volstь (“rule, power, authority”), thus originally probably meaning "a region ruled over". Compare Proto-Slavic *obvoldati (“to rule”).

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Examples

  • In the late Twenties, Stalin created the Jewish Autonomous Oblast (oblast is the Russian term for province) on the Amur River near Vladivostok.

    Matthew Yglesias » The Yiddish Policeman’s Union 2007

  • If the oblast is restored, it will be because people here want it.

    Russia's Holy Warriors 2005

  • If the oblast is restored, it will be because people here want it.

    Russia's Holy Warriors 2005

  • If the oblast is restored, it will be because people here want it.

    Russia's Holy Warriors 2005

  • May be I'm wrong, I remember something along the lines of pronunciation of Oriol' oblast' being the closest to the ideal.

    languagehat.com: "MISPRONOUNCED" WORDS. 2004

  • According to the head of state, there is another important area of cooperation with the Saratov oblast which is the studying of the Russian experience in the construction of nuclear power plants.

    The BEING HAD Times 2008

  • As I am registered in Lviv, my monthly allowance will be no more than the average salary in Lviv oblast, which is Hr 1,400. "

    News on www.kyivpost.com 2009

  • It was also beaten by five autonomous okrugs and one oblast.

    The Return Daniel Treisman 2011

  • It was also beaten by five autonomous okrugs and one oblast.

    The Return Daniel Treisman 2011

  • It was also beaten by five autonomous okrugs and one oblast.

    The Return Daniel Treisman 2011

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