a city in W Russia, on the Tobol River: industrial centre for an agricultural region. Pop: 344 000 (2005 est)
Kurgan in American English
(kʊʀˈgɑn)
city in SW Siberian Russia: pop. 363,000
kurgan in American English
(kurˈɡɑːn, -ˈɡæn)
noun
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.
Word origin
[1885–90; ‹ Russ kurgán burial mound, ORuss, appar. to be identified with kurganŭ fortress ‹ Turkic; cf. Turkish, Tatar kurğan, Chagatai, Kazakh korğan fortress, castle]