Sorok

a Russian word with various meanings.

(1) The quantity and number 40.

(2) An old Russian unit of counting. It was first used until the early 19th century, primarily in the fur trade. For example, 2 soroka of sables were equal to 80 pelts.

(3) A group of churches, sometimes less than 40 in number, subject to a blagochinnyi (a senior priest serving as superintendent over the clergy of several parishes). The phrase sorok sorokov (forty forties) is a traditional expression for the great number of churches in old Moscow.