ˈkäˌsak also -_sək noun
( -s )
Usage: sometimes capitalized
Etymology: Russian kazak & Ukrainian kozak, from Turkish kazak free, independent person, adventurer, vagabond
1. : a member of a favored military caste of Russian frontiersmen and border guards in Czarist Russia, especially in the Ukraine, who played an important part in Russian expansion in the Ukraine and eastward into southeastern Russia, the Caucasus, and Siberia
2. : a member of an armed contingent (as company police) using force to suppress or break up some activity (as a strike or demonstration)