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kurgan

[koo r-gahn, -gan]
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noun
  1. 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

Kurgan

[koo r-gahn; Russian koor-gahn]
noun
  1. a city in the S Russian Federation in Asia, near the Ural Mountains.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for kurgan

Historical Examples

  • 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.

British Dictionary definitions for kurgan

Kurgan

noun
  1. a city in W Russia, on the Tobol River: industrial centre for an agricultural region. Pop: 344 000 (2005 est)
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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

Word Origin and History for kurgan

n.

1889, from Russian, originally a Tatar word.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper