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• Mongol
  Mongol

  noun

  a member of a pastoral people now living chiefly in Mongolia.
• mongol
  mongol

  noun

  a formerly used and now highly offensive name for a person affected by Down's syndrome

Mongol

American  

[mong-guhl, -gohl, mon-] / ˈmɒŋ gəl, -goʊl, ˈmɒn- /

noun

1. a member of a pastoral people now living chiefly in Mongolia.

2. Anthropology. (no longer in technical use) a person having Mongoloid characteristics.

3. any Mongolian language.

4. (often lowercase) (no longer in technical use; now considered offensive) a person affected with Down syndrome.

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adjective

1. Mongolian.

Mongol ¹ British  

/ ˈmɒŋɡɒl, -ɡəl /

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Mongolia, esp a nomad

2. the Mongolian language

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mongol ² British  

/ ˈmɒŋɡəl /

noun

1. a formerly used and now highly offensive name for a person affected by Down's syndrome

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Other Word Forms

• non-Mongol
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Mongol

First recorded in 1610–20; from French mongal, ultimately from Mongolian Mongol, possibly from mong “brave”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Mongol

While Genghis may have been the most skilled chief among his Mongol contemporaries, his skills would have been wasted if he had been born 20 years earlier, or 200 miles to the south.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

I'm obsessed with Genghis Khan and the history of the Mongol Empire.

From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2025

Marco Polo was born in Venice to a merchant family in 1254 and he died here in 1324 after a quarter-century exploring the Silk Road and serving the Mongol Court.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 29, 2024

The chart extends from the islands of the North Atlantic Ocean to the Mongol empire’s Golden Horde in what is now Eastern Europe.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2023

As Samir crawled over to check my knee, I said, “That’s the Mongol gunner, right?”

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri