Mongolian

How to spell mongolian

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce mongolian

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does mongolian mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to Mongolia, its people, language, or culture.
2. nounA person from Mongolia, or the language spoken there.

Mongolian in a sentence

• adjective

  The museum displayed a collection of mongolian throat-singing instruments.

• noun

  The interpreter translated the speech into fluent mongolian for the delegates.

• adjective

  She studied the mongolian system of nomadic herding for her thesis.

• noun

  As a proud mongolian, he taught his children the traditional songs of the steppe.

Where does mongolian come from?

Language of origin: Other

This word is built on Mongol, the name of the people of the central Asian steppe, to which English added the familiar suffix -ian to form an adjective and noun meaning 'of or belonging to Mongolia'. The name Mongol comes through Russian and other intermediaries from the Mongolian people's own name for themselves, often connected to a root suggesting 'brave' or 'bold', though the deepest origin is debated. The place name Mongolia is simply the territory of the Mongols, given a Latin-style -ia ending of the kind used for many country names. English began using Mongol and its derivatives from around the seventeenth century as European contact with central Asia grew. The spelling trap sits in the unstressed middle: the stress falls on the 'go' syllable, leaving the surrounding vowels (the 'o' in Mon- and the 'ian' ending) easy to muddle when writing from memory.

How the word is built

• Mongol (the ethnonym/place name Mongolia)
• -ian (adjective/noun suffix meaning 'relating to' or 'a person from')