Russian Language Exported: BELUGA
The royal fish whose Russian name became an international symbol of black caviar and luxury.
‘Beluga’ (English, German, French: ‘beluga’) is the largest freshwater fish of the sturgeon family that lives in the Caspian, Black and Azov Seas. Its Russian name comes from the word ‘bely’ (‘white’) – because of its light-colored belly. Along with its black caviar, the word entered the global market, becoming established in European languages precisely in its Russian form. It’s important not to confuse it with the beluga whale, an arctic cetacean, whose name also comes from Russian, but which is a completely different animal!
