kurgan

¹

[ koor-gahn, -gan ]

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.

Kurgan

²

[ koor-gahn; Russian koor-gahn ]

noun

1. a city in the S Russian Federation in Asia, near the Ural Mountains.

Kurgan

/ kurˈɡan /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of kurgan¹

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

Example Sentences

He moved to Yekaterinburg, then Kursk, and spent three years in Kurgan, a city to the east of the Ural mountains, before he lost his job at the philharmonic orchestra there in 2022.

From BBC

Kurgan - a city with more than 300,000 inhabitants - is the location of the military factory Kurganmashzavod, whose production includes infantry fighting vehicles and light tanks.

From BBC

A "colossal" amount of water is moving towards the Russian city of Kurgan, the region's governor has said.

From BBC

Kurgan, the regional capital and city of 300,000, lies downstream and is also thought to be at risk.

From BBC

States of emergency have been declared in Kurgan region and in neighbouring Tyumen, in western Siberia.

From BBC