laika
laika noun: a type of hunting dog from Russia.
Noun (1)
laika (plural laikas)
- A type of hunting dog from Russia.
- Q—The Russians picked a laika to occupy the space capsule. Do you think a dachshund would have been a wiser choice?1957, The New Yorker, volume 33, page 54
- Indeed, they have been hybridising for a very long time, as is evidenced by the laika, a wolf-like dog that even today accompanies various Siberian peoples.2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 287
Noun (2) capitalized: Laika
Laika (plural Laikas)
- Alternative letter-case form of laika.
Proper noun capitalized: Laika
Laika
- A female dog who was sent into space by the Soviet Union on November 3, 1957, aboard Sputnik 2. She died in space.
Forms of laika
| plural | laikas |
|---|---|
| alternative form | Laika |
| plural | Laikas |
Origin of laika
From Russian ла́йка (lájka, “laika”, literally “barker”).
Transliteration of Russian ла́йка (lájka, literally “barker”).
Transliteration of Russian Лáйка (Lájka), from ла́йка (lájka, literally “barker”). Renamed by Soviet personnel; according to some accounts, owing to her loud barking.
Words formed from laika
Phrases with laika
Questions about laika
- What does laika mean?
- Laika means a type of hunting dog from Russia.
- What part of speech is laika?
- Laika can be a noun or a proper noun.
- What is the plural of laika?
- The plural of laika is laikas.
Words near laika in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: laika (page history and authors); Laika (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “laika.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/laika. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.