Tungus
/ˈtʊŋ.ɡəs/noun
A historical exonym for certain Tungusic peoples of Siberia, especially the Evenks, and by extension related languages and groups.
Did you know?The name is an exonym used by Russian and European writers; modern scholarship prefers ethnonyms like Evenk and the broader linguistic term Tungusic, which comes from the same historical label.
Etymological Timeline
17th Century
Russian
тунгус / tungus
“An exonym for Siberian peoples, especially the Evenks”
18th Century
German/European
Tunguse / Tungus
“A borrowed ethnographic term for peoples of northeastern Siberia”
19th Century
English
Tungus
“A term used in English for certain Siberian peoples and languages”
Modern English
English
Tungus
“A historical ethnonym, now often replaced by more specific or preferred names”