пацан

Borrowed from Ukrainian пацан (pacan) during Soviet era, see more there.

• IPA^(key): [pɐˈt͡san]

• Audio:

  (file)

паца́н • (pacán) m anim (genitive пацана́, nominative plural пацаны́, genitive plural пацано́в, female equivalent паца́нка, relational adjective паца́нский, collective пацанва́, diminutive пацанёнок, pejorative collective пацаньё)

1. (colloquial) boy, kid, lad, fella (referring to a boy or a young man; can be used as a term of address)
2. (criminal slang) gang member

• → Polish: pacan

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “пацан”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Šanskij, N. M. (2004), “пацан”, in Školʹnyj etimologičeskij slovarʹ russkovo jazyka [School Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Drofa

• Dal, Vladimir (1880–1882), “пац”, in Толковый Словарь живаго великорускаго языка [Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language] (in Russian), 2nd edition, Publication of the bookseller-typographer Wolf, M. O.
• Dal, Vladimir (1880–1882), “пацю-пацю”, in Толковый Словарь живаго великорускаго языка [Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language] (in Russian), 2nd edition, Publication of the bookseller-typographer Wolf, M. O.

From an unidentified form; presumably Ukrainian пацю́к (pacjúk, “piglet, rat”), with the expressive suffix -ан (-an).

• IPA^(key): [pɐˈt͡san]

паца́н • (pacán) m pers (genitive пацана́, nominative plural пацани́, genitive plural пацані́в)

1. (colloquial) boy, kid, lad, fella (referring to a boy or a young man; can be used as a term of address)

   Synonym: хлопча́к (xlopčák)

2. (criminal slang) gang member

• Bilodid, I. K., editor (1970–1980), “пацан”, in Словник української мови: в 11 т. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: in 11 vols] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka
• Shyrokov, V. A., editor (2010–2025), “пацан”, in Словник української мови: у 20 т. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: in 20 vols] (in Ukrainian), volumes 1–15 (а – п'ять), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka; Ukrainian Lingua-Information Fund, →ISBN
• Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1982–2012), “пацан”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka