/gooh"lahg/ , n. ( sometimes cap. )
1. the system of forced-labor camps in the Soviet Union.
2. a Soviet forced-labor camp.
3. any prison or detention camp, esp. for political prisoners.
[ 1970-75; Gulág, acronym from Glávnoe upravlénie ispravítel'no-trudovýkh lageréi Main Directorate of Corrective Labor Camps ]