Definition of hetman in English:
hetman
nounPlural hetmen ˈhɛtmənˈhɛtmən
A Polish or Cossack military commander.
Example sentencesExamples
- They were democratic, directly electing their leaders or hetmen.
- Why would the Diet forbid Jan Kazimierz to provide military aid to Vyhovs'kyi and what is meant by the statement that the Cossack hetman was ‘an elected king’?
- But the Swedes and Cossacks lost, and Peter destroyed the hetman's capital and the hetmanate itself.
- In 1648, led by the kozak hetman (military leader) Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Ukrainians rose against Poland, forming an independent state.
- Two hundred years ago King Karl XII of Sweden fought together with the Cossack hetman Ivan Mazepa for the independence of Ukraine from Russia.
Origin
Polish, probably from German Hauptmann 'captain'.