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kurgan

[ koor-gahn, -gan ]
/ kʊərˈgɑn, -ˈgæn /
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noun
a circular burial mound constructed over a pit grave and often containing grave vessels, weapons, and the bodies of horses as well as a single human body; originally in use in the Russian Steppes but later spreading into eastern, central, and northern Europe in the third millennium b.c.
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Origin of kurgan

1885–90; <Russian kurgán burial mound, Old Russian, apparently to be identified with kurganŭ fortress <Turkic; compare Turkish, Tatar kurğan, Chagatai, Kazakh korğan fortress, castle

Words nearby kurgan

kurdaitcha shoes, Kurdish, Kurdistan, Kurds, Kure, kurgan, kuri, Kurile Islands, Kuril Islands, Kuril Trench, Kurland

Other definitions for kurgan (2 of 2)

Kurgan
[ koor-gahn; Russian koor-gahn ]
/ kʊərˈgɑn; Russian kurˈgɑn /
noun
a city in the S Russian Federation in Asia, near the Ural Mountains.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use kurgan in a sentence

  • From Mir we proceeded to the Kette Kurgan ('great fortress').

    Travels in Central Asia|Arminius Vmbry

  • An occasional kurgan rising up here and there in the Steppe is the sole sign that it was once inhabited by a people.

    The Green Book|Mr Jkai

  • These people buried their dead in barrows, or kurgans, and for this reason they have been called Kurgan people.

    The Bronze Age and the Celtic World|Harold Peake

  • Sergi states that it varies from 65 to 81, but it seems likely that among his collection of kurgan skulls are some of other types.

    The Bronze Age and the Celtic World|Harold Peake

British Dictionary definitions for kurgan

Kurgan
/ (Russian kurˈɡan) /
noun
a city in W Russia, on the Tobol River: industrial centre for an agricultural region. Pop: 344 000 (2005 est)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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