---
title: cossack — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «cossack» in the school dictionary: The Cossacks were communities of free, self-ruling warriors and farmers on the steppes of what is now Ukraine and southern Russia, famous as horsemen. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# cossack

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Cossacks, Cossack, Zaporizhzhian Cossacks, own leader, hopak, Grandad · **What happens:** be, rule, describe, live, elect, call · **To what, where:** communities, Ukraine, things, famous horse riders, islands, own leader · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«cossack» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [cossack in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/cossack.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Cossacks were communities of free, self-ruling warriors and farmers on the steppes of what is now Ukraine and southern Russia, famous as horsemen.

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cossack:m1:1
# text = The Cossacks were communities of free, self-ruling warriors and farmers on the steppes of what is now Ukraine and southern Russia, famous as horsemen.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Cossacks	Cossack	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	communities	community	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
6	free	free	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
8	self	self	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	ruling	rule	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	11	amod	_	_
11	warriors	warrior	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	farmers	farmer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	conj	_	_
14	on	on	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	steppes	steppe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nmod	_	_
17	of	of	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	16	nmod	_	_
19	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	21	cop	_	_
20	now	now	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	21	advmod	_	_
21	Ukraine	Ukraine	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	18	acl:relcl	_	_
22	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	24	cc	_	_
23	southern	southern	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	24	amod	_	_
24	Russia	Russia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	21	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	26	punct	_	_
26	famous	famous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	conj	_	_
27	as	as	ADP	IN	_	28	case	_	_
28	horsemen	horseman	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | the Cossacks | communities |  |  |  | of free ruling warriors on the steppes of free ruling warriors on the steppes of free ruling warriors and farmers and farmers | tree rules |
| 2 | **rule** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn dub-29.3.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is a** | present |  | Ukraine and southern Russia |  |  | now |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **be** |  |  |  |  |  |  | as horsemen | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Cossack describes their things: a Cossack hat, a Cossack dance.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cossack:m2:1
# text = Cossack describes their things: a Cossack hat, a Cossack dance.
1	Cossack	cossack	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	describes	describe	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	Cossack	cossack	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	hat	hat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	Cossack	cossack	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	dance	dance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **describe** | present | Cossack | their things  a Cossack hat and a Cossack dance |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent thing=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Cossacks were famous horse riders.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cossack:x1:1
# text = The Cossacks were famous horse riders.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Cossacks	Cossack	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	famous	famous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
5	horse	horse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	riders	rider	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | the Cossacks | famous horse riders |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Zaporizhzhian Cossacks lived on islands in the Dnipro river.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cossack:x2:1
# text = The Zaporizhzhian Cossacks lived on islands in the Dnipro river.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	Zaporizhzhian	zaporizhzhian	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	Cossacks	Cossack	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	lived	live	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	islands	island	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	Dnipro	Dnipro	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	river	river	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live** | past | the Zaporizhzhian Cossacks |  |  | islands in the Dnipro river |  |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on island=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Cossacks elected their own leader, called a hetman.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cossack:x3:1
# text = The Cossacks elected their own leader, called a hetman.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Cossacks	Cossack	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	elected	elect	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
5	own	own	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	leader	leader	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
8	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	acl	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	hetman	hetman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **elect** | past | the Cossacks | Cossacks's own leader |  |  |  |  | vn appoint-29.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent leader=Theme |
| 2 | **call** | participle | Cossacks's own leader *not said here* | a hetman |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent hetman=Recipient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In a famous painting, Cossacks laugh as they write a rude letter to the Turkish sultan.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cossack:x4:1
# text = In a famous painting, Cossacks laugh as they write a rude letter to the Turkish sultan.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	famous	famous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	painting	painting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	Cossacks	cossack	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
7	laugh	laugh	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
9	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	write	write	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	advcl	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	rude	rude	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
14	to	to	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
16	Turkish	Turkish	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
17	sultan	sultan	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **laugh** | present | Cossacks |  |  |  |  | in a famous painting | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent in painting=Theme |
| 2 | **write** | present | Cossacks *= cossack* | a rude letter | the Turkish sultan |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent letter=Topic to sultan=Recipient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The hopak is a lively Cossack dance from Ukraine.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cossack:x5:1
# text = The hopak is a lively Cossack dance from Ukraine.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	hopak	hopak	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	lively	lively	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
6	Cossack	cossack	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	dance	dance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	from	from	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	Ukraine	Ukraine	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the hopak | a lively Cossack dance |  | Ukraine |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandad wore a tall furry Cossack hat.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cossack:x6:1
# text = Grandad wore a tall furry Cossack hat.
1	Grandad	Grandad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wore	wear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
4	tall	tall	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
5	furry	furry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
6	Cossack	cossack	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	hat	hat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wear** | past | Grandad | a tall furry Cossack hat |  |  |  |  | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent hat=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ukraine's national anthem says Ukrainians are of Cossack kin.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cossack:x7:1
# text = Ukraine's national anthem says Ukrainians are of Cossack kin.
1	Ukraine	Ukraine	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	's	PART	POS	_	1	case	_	_
3	national	national	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	anthem	anthem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	Ukrainians	Ukrainian	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
7	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	Cossack	cossack	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	kin	kin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | Ukraine's national anthem |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | Ukrainians |  |  |  |  | of Cossack kin | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"What are you crying about?" asked the Cossack.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cossack:x8:1
# text = "What are you crying about?" asked the Cossack.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	5	obj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	crying	cry	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	9	ccomp	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
9	asked	ask	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	Cossack	cossack	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cry** *speech: express* *in a quote* | present · progressive | you |  |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent what=Topic |
| 2 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | the Cossack |  |  |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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