Definition

1. Noun:
   • A member of a Turkic ethnic group: A person belonging to a people primarily inhabiting the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in northwestern China and adjacent areas of Central Asia.
   • The Turkic language: The language spoken by the Uighur people, belonging to the Turkic language family.
   • A historical script: An alphabetic script derived from Sogdian (ultimately from Aramaic) used historically to write the Uighur language and later adapted for Classical Mongolian.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Ethnic Group):
  • The Uighur have a rich cultural heritage of music and cuisine.
  • She is a Uighur from the city of Kashgar.
• Noun (Language):
  • He is learning to speak Uighur.
  • The poem was originally written in Uighur.
• Noun (Script):
  • Ancient manuscripts were discovered written in the Uighur script.

Advanced Usage

• "Uighur" as an adjective: When used attributively to describe things related to the people, language, or culture.
  • Uighur traditions include the Meshrep gathering.
  • She studies Uighur history.

Variants and Related Words

• Uighuric (adj): Pertaining to the Uighur people or their language.
  • The Uighuric languages are a subgroup of Turkic.
• Uyghur: An alternate common romanization of the word.
  • The term "Uyghur" is also widely used in academic texts.

Synonyms

• Uigur: An alternate spelling.
• Uyghur: Another common romanization.

Notes on Different Meanings

• The primary contemporary meaning refers to the ethnic group and their language. The meaning referring to the historical script is more specialized and used in academic contexts related to linguistics and history.

Noun

1. the script (derived from Aramaic) used to write the Uighur language
2. the Turkic language spoken by approximately 7,000,000 Uighur in extreme northwestern China
3. a member of a people who speak Uighur and live in Xinjiang and adjacent areas