Lexicon

By Melissa August, Matthew Cooper, Wendy Cole, Ellin Martens, Desa Philadelphia, Julie Rawe, Alain Sanders, Flora Tartakovsky and Josh Tyrangiel

WHAT'S IN A NAME

New Russian President Vladimir Putin has many wondering how to pronounce his name (answer: POO-teen). To add to the confusion, variations of Putin take on new meanings in other languages.

put in v. [English] 1. to place 2. to apply for putain n. [French] whore, hooker poutine n. [French Canadian] fries covered with gravy and melted cheese curds putten v. [Dutch] to draw putina n. [Russian] fishing season putan n. [Albanian] 1. hornless 2. whore