Kurd

Kurd

noun \ˈku̇rd, ˈkərd\

Definition of KURD

: a member of a pastoral and agricultural people who inhabit a plateau region in adjoining parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Armenia, and Azerbaijan

— Kurd·ish \ˈku̇r-dish, ˈkər-\ adjective

First Known Use of KURD

1595

Rhymes with KURD

gourd, gourde, urd

Kurd

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Member of an ethnic and linguistic group native to parts of what are now Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, and Syria (see Kurdistan). Kurds speak one of two dialects of Kurdish, a West Iranian language related to Modern Persian. Traditionally nomadic, most were forced into farming by the redrawing of state borders after World War I (1914–18). Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims; Sufism is widely practiced. Plans for a Kurdish state, promised by the Treaty of Sèvres (1920), which dissolved the Ottoman Empire, were never realized. Kurds in Turkey, Iran, and Iraq have been variously persecuted and pressured to assimilate; Iraqi attacks were particularly severe during the Iran-Iraq War (1980–88) and following the Persian Gulf War (1990–91). See also Kurdistan Workers' Party.