Also spelled koulan
noun
Freq #199242
Meanings
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1
noun
an Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus) of the Central Asian steppes and deserts, especially the Turkmen kulan subspecies (E. h. kulan)
A herd of kulans crossed the dry steppe at dusk in search of water.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
1
noun
· an asiatic wild ass (equus...
Asiatic wild assAsian wild asskoulanTurkmen kulan
Word family
Related forms
onagerkhulanwild asskiangEquus hemionus
Etymology
Borrowed from Russian kulan, 'Asiatic wild ass,' ultimately from a Turkic animal name; compare Kyrgyz kulan, Kazakh qulan, and related forms across Central Asian Turkic languages. English also uses the variant spelling koulan, while khulan reflects another transliteration seen especially in Mongolian contexts.