Russian doll
Self-containing wooden figure
A Russian doll is a hollow wooden figurine that opens to reveal a smaller figurine inside, which contains another still smaller, and so on—typically five to seven nested figures painted as women in traditional dress.
The term extends to anything with multiple layers of similar things contained within each other: The company's structure was a Russian doll of subsidiaries.
Also called matryoshka or nesting doll.
Russian nesting doll
- babushkaTriangular cloth head covering
- traditionalFollowing long-held customs
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- culturalRelating to shared traditions
folklore · ethnic · peasant · souvenir · collectible · keepsake · ornament · vintage
Made manually, not machined
- woodenMade from timber
- hand-paintedDecorated by brush personally
- lacqueredCoated with hard gloss
- carvedCut to create form
artisan · handicraft · woodturning · linden · birch · lathe · varnish · pigment
Contained within another
- enclosedSurrounded and sealed within
- concentricSharing one center
- embeddedSet firmly within something
- layeredHaving multiple levels
stackable · hierarchical · sequential · compartmentalized · enveloped · recursive · encapsulated · interlocking
State of being a female parent
- fertilityCapacity for reproduction
- familyRelated people together
- generationsPeople born around same time
- ancestryFamily line of descent
continuity · femininity · wholeness · unity · hidden · layers · identity · multiplicity
Object for amusement
- childhoodLife's earliest phase
- nostalgiaLonging for the past
- giftItem given freely
- setArrange in position
puzzle · assembly · discovery · surprise · counting · educational · playful · collection
Stacked levels or coatings
- hiddenKept out of sight
- complexityState of being complicated
- depthDistance below surface
- recursiveDefined in terms of itself
structure · revelation · unfolding · uncovering · peeling · within · concealed · successive
matryoshka
Russian nesting doll
- babushkaTriangular cloth head covering
- traditionalFollowing long-held customs
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
cultural · folklore · ethnic · peasant · souvenir · collectible · keepsake · ornament · vintage · motif
handcrafted
Made manually, not machined
- woodenMade from timber
- hand-paintedDecorated by brush personally
- lacqueredCoated with hard gloss
carved · artisan · handicraft · woodturning · linden · birch · lathe · varnish · pigment · gilded
nested
Contained within another
- enclosedSurrounded and sealed within
- concentricSharing one center
- embeddedSet firmly within something
layered · stackable · hierarchical · sequential · compartmentalized · enveloped · recursive · encapsulated · interlocking · multilayered
motherhood
State of being a female parent
- fertilityCapacity for reproduction
- familyRelated people together
- generationsPeople born around same time
ancestry · continuity · femininity · wholeness · unity · hidden · layers · identity · multiplicity · encapsulation
plaything
Object for amusement
set · puzzle · assembly · discovery · surprise · counting · educational · playful · collection · display
layers
Stacked levels or coatings
- hiddenKept out of sight
- complexityState of being complicated
- depthDistance below surface
recursive · structure · revelation · unfolding · uncovering · peeling · within · concealed · successive · deeper
- Matryoshka
- wooden dollsmatryoshka, nutcracker, kachina, daruma, wooden soldier
Russian dollmonolith
Huge solitary standing stone
solid block · brick · stone · billiard ball · ingot