russian
n. C / Un. the language people speak in Russia, or a person who comes from that country.
n. a person from Russia or of Russian descent; also the East Slavic language spoken primarily in Russia and neighboring countries.
She speaks Russian very well.
The museum guide explained the history of the painting in both Russian and English for the tourists.
While many people in the region are fluent in Russian, the local dialect often incorporates unique loanwords that reflect the area's complex history of cultural exchange.
From Medieval Latin (11th century) Russiānus, from Russia, a Latinization of the Old East Slavic Русь (Rusĭ)) + -ānus (“of or pertaining to”). Attested in English (both as a noun and as an adjective) from the 16th century. By surface analysis, Russia + -an. Piecewise doublet of Rossiyan.
When referring to the language, it is uncountable; when referring to people, it is countable. Always capitalized.
I am learning the russianI am learning RussianLanguage names are proper nouns and must be capitalized; they also do not take a definite article when used as a subject or object.