Mongol

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A person belonging to a Central Asian ethnic group noted for their historical empire and distinctive cultural heritage
2. A member of a Central Asian ethnic group recognized for its vast historical empire and unique traditions
3. A member of a Central Asian ethnic group known for their nomadic lifestyle and significant influence on world history

Etymology: The name most people know for this group came from a small tribe on the steppe, and for centuries it referred to only a few of the peoples who lived there. The word descends from Middle Mongol "mongqol", the name of one people in the region, and was later written in Classical Mongolian as "mongɣol". Its exact original meaning is not settled, and the source offers no firm account of it, so the story stops at the name itself. The word's most unusual sense has nothing to do with the steppe. In medicine, "mongol" came to describe people with Down syndrome, because the condition often produces a prominent epicanthic fold, the skin fold over the inner eye that is also common among people of East Asian ancestry. The link was a visual impression, and it was a poor one: the fold is a feature of the condition, not an ethnic marker, which is why the term is now considered offensive and has been abandoned in clinical use.