ˈsämēzˌdät noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Russian, from sam self + izdat el'stvo publisher, from izdat' to publish, from iz out, from + dat' to give; akin to Latin dare to give — more at date
: a system in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and countries within its orbit by which government-suppressed literature was clandestinely printed and distributed ; also : such literature