Jurchen

Meanings

Noun

• A member of a medieval and early modern Tungusic people, progenitors of the Manchus.

Proper Noun

• An extinct East Asian language (code jur), related to Manchu.

Origin

• A modern reconstruction of the early Jurchen form of the name (likely actually *Jörcen), developed under the influence of Manchu Jurcit and Mongolian жүрчид. Vajda argues for a derivation from a Proto-Tungusic word meaning "reindeer people", cognate with the Orochs of Russia's Khabarovsk Province and the Oroks of Sakhalin.