Yukaghir

[yoo-kuh-geer]

noun

plural

Yukaghirs ,

plural

Yukaghir .

1. a member of an Indigenous people of the Kolyma river basin of northeastern Siberia.

2. the Paleosiberian language of the Yukaghir.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Yukaghir¹

First recorded in 1840–45; from Russian yukagír, probably of Evenki origin

Example Sentences

Mr. Shadrin, the Yukaghir community leader, described the members of his Indigenous group — scattered in small villages across the vast region — as overwhelmingly supportive of the Kremlin.

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The Yukaghir were not an exotic tribe living in utter isolation.

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That encounter was fresh in his mind when, back in Denmark, Dr. Willerslev learned that some scientists were extracting DNA from fossil mummies, a technique that might help explain the history of people like the Yukaghir.

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An old man, covered in scars from hunting bears in his youth, led them to a Yukaghir village.

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They would make contact with a mysterious group of people called the Yukaghir, who supposedly lived on nothing but elk and moose.

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