Tungus

noun

Tun·​gus tu̇ŋ-ˈgüz How to pronounce Tungus (audio)
tən-
plural Tungus or Tunguses
1
: a member of an indigenous people of central and southeastern Siberia
2
: the Tungusic language of the Tungus people

Examples of Tungus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Its subject was shamanism among the Reindeer Tungus, a collective of reindeer-herding peoples Indigenous to sub-Arctic Asia and better known today as the Evenki. Naï Zakharia, New York Times, 23 Dec. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Russian

First Known Use

1674, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Tungus was in 1674

Dictionary Entries Near Tungus

Cite this Entry

“Tungus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Tungus. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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