Altai
name, noun ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The people living in the region of the Altai mountains. plural, plural-only
- 1 A mountain range in central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge.
"Deep in the Altai Mountains, where Russia, China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia meet, Kazakh people have for centuries developed and nurtured a special bond with golden eagles, training the birds to hunt foxes and other small animals."
- 2 Alternative form of Altay. alt-of, alternative
- 3 A city in Govi-Altai, Mongolia.
"Set dramatically on a dry plain, with high snow-capped peaks in the distance, is the provincial capital Altai, located 1,005 kilometres west of Ulaanbaatar. Before 1960, it was known as Yösön Bulag (the ‘nine springs’). This town of 15,000 people sits at 2,160 metres above sea level, making it the highest city in the country."
- 4 A town in East Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan (since 2019); formerly Zyryan.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"The Turkish language originated in the Altai mountain range in northern Siberia centuries ago."
Etymology
From the Turkic word for "Golden Mountain". Compare Turkish altın (“gold”), dağ (“mountain”) and al (“red, colorful”) which altın is likely related to.
Related phrases
More for "altai"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.