Etymology

novichok

N1O1V4I1C3H4O1K5

Today it means: Any of a group of deadly organophosphate nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s to evade restrictions on chemical weapons. Full definition →

Russian новичо́к
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The story

  1. Russian · borrowed fromновичо́к
  2. English todaynovichok

From Russian новичо́к (novičók, literally “newbie, newcomer”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.