nomenklatura (from the former Soviet Union) a list of influential posts in government and industry to be filled by Communist Party appointees
(Latin nomenclatura, = nomen ‘name’ + clatura ‘calling, summoning’ [calare ‘to call’])

Mr. Saad is being criminally prosecuted in the U.S But why is Venezuala’s government, under President Maduro, running his defense? Quote:
[A]s an intermediary in regime business dealings, Mr. Saab may be intimately familiar with how Venezuelan wealth has been siphoned off to enrich the nomenklatura. If Mr. Saab finds himself plea-bargaining in America, he may be inclined to share that information with U.S. law enforcement, which might then make it public.
− Wall Street Journal, February 28, 2021

We have the same word in English, although we use it slightly differently. Indeed, Russian and English share many words, such as "taxi," "jacket," and "soup."

acerbic - sharply or bitingly critical, sarcastic, or ironic in temper, mood, or tone

[referring to Bill Gates] The to hypercompetitive and acerbic boy wonder of the days of the PC and browser wars has faded into history, subsumed by a reputation as a global philanthropist. Mr. Gates provides a 21st-century template for a billionaire’s image reboot.
- New York Times, February 9, 2021

I've always liked the word "acerbic." It sounds like its meaning.

"Acerbic" isn't onomatopoeia, but it does sound like it. Is there a term for such words?

It also makes me think of a quality of Acer computers.

quote:

Originally posted by wordcrafter:
nomenklatura (from the former Soviet Union) a list of influential posts in government and industry to be filled by Communist Party appointees

Had to chime in a p.s. on this one. I never knew this word, but am now encountering it regularly in a Span Lit class I'm doing by zoom with a friend. In Spanish, just as in English, the version spelled with 'c' (nomenclatura en espanol) means just what it looks like, but spelled with 'k' refers to the elite of the USSR bureaucracy. We're reading "The Man Who Loved Dogs" by Padura in the original Spanish, about Trotsky, the man who assassinated him, and a Cuban who wrote about them-- 3 different generations of Communists.

Interesting. Thanks, B35!