ENGLISH
REFERENCE

kurdish

n. C / U
B1 Intermediate US //ˈkɝdɪʃ// kur·dish

n. the language spoken by the Kurdish people, who live mainly in parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria.

n. a continuum of Northwest Iranian languages spoken by the Kurdish people in Western Asia. Uncountable when referring to the language itself; countable when referring to specific dialects or varieties.


SIMPLE

She speaks Kurdish fluently with her family.

CONTEXTUAL

The local community center offers classes for children to learn how to read and write in Kurdish.

COMPLEX

Linguists often study the various dialects of Kurdish to understand the historical development of Iranian languages across the mountainous regions of the Middle East.

Origin

From Kurd + -ish.

Usage

Uncountable as a language name; capitalized in all contexts.

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