Meanings
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna member of the Tungus speaking people who are a nomadic people widely spread over eastern Siberia; related to the Manchu
nounthe Tungusic language of the Evenki in eastern Siberia
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Chinese東胡 /东胡“Donghu”
- Proto-Turkic*toŋuz
- Old Turkic[script needed]
- Russianтунгус
- EnglishTungus
From Russian тунгус (tungus), * supposedly deriving from donki, a self-designation of certain Siberian groups, or alternatively from a Yakut name for the Evenki. * Or, of East Turkic origin, from tunguz (“wild boar, pig”), from Old Turkic [script needed] (tonguz), from Proto-Turkic *toŋuz. * A controversial theory further connects the word with Chinese 東胡 /东胡 (Dōnghú, “Donghu”, literally “Eastern barbarians”), an ancient people of North China. More at Tungusic.
More words from Russian, Old Turkic, Proto-Turkic
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Tungus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tungus
“Tungus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tungus. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Tungus,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tungus.
Source: Tungus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.