ЗеКа́

rare #37968

nounmasculineanimatecountablefake feminine

1.
convict (in a labour camp), camp inmatehistory
Мой дед был зе́ка в ста́линских лагеря́х.
My grandfather was a convict in Stalin's camps.
Soviet-era term for a Gulag prisoner; often used unchanged in the plural.
2.
prisoner, inmate, con
В ка́мере сиде́ли три зе́ка.
Three inmates were sitting in the cell.
Colloquial, prison slang.

Usage info

The terms зк, зек / зэк, зека are derived from 'Заключённый каналоармеец', which means a labor convict of a Gulag of the Stalin era.

This noun is not delinable, always ЗеКа́.