Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A circular, domed, portable tent used by nomadic peoples of central Asia.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One of the houses or huts, whether permanent or movable, of the natives of northern and central Asia. Also yourta, yourte, jurt.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A large, round semi-permanent tent with vertical walls and conical roof usually associated with Central Asia and Mongolia.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a circular domed dwelling that is portable and self-supporting; originally used by nomadic Mongol and Turkic people of central Asia but now used as inexpensive alternative or temporary housing

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Russian yurta, of Turkic origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Russian юрта (júrta), from a Turkic language, related to Turkish yurt, "home, homeland".

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Examples

  • The word yurt is originally from the Turkic word meaning "dwelling place" in the sense of "homeland"; the term came to be used in reference to the physical tent-like structures only in other languages.

    Yurts Annie 2006

  • The word yurt is originally from the Turkic word meaning "dwelling place" in the sense of "homeland"; the term came to be used in reference to the physical tent-like structures only in other languages.

    Archive 2006-10-01 Annie 2006

  • A big silver tricycle, a batch of Jester clothes and a large, tent-like dwelling called a yurt.

    Serfing the Web: Sites Let People Farm Out Their Chores Emily Glazer 2011

  • Helped a commune of longhairs build a crazy house called a yurt.

    The Long Walk Home Thomas Pluck 2011

  • Yes a yurt is a portable, felt-covered, wood lattice-framed dwelling structure used by the nomads in the steppes of Central Asia for centuries, and yes it is also a modern dwelling here in the west.

    Live in a Well Rounded Dwelling and Build a Yurt Outside 2009

  • Inside the yurt was a pond where goldfish swam from The Times: Carol Ann Duffy's tribute to departing head of Edinburgh book festival posted by Rus Bowden at 2:49 PM

    Archive 2009-08-01 Rus Bowden 2009

  • Inside the yurt was a pond where goldfish swam from The Times: Carol Ann Duffy's tribute to departing head of Edinburgh book festival posted by Rus Bowden at 2:49 PM

    News at Eleven: [Carol Ann] Duffy said that it was difficult Rus Bowden 2009

  • The yurt is a type of “Green Weefab Mini-Home” and can be customized into another kind of hand-built “Earth Sheltered House” for those on a budget.

    Live in a Well Rounded Dwelling and Build a Yurt Outside 2009

  • [For the record, a yurt is a "portable, felt-covered, wood lattice-framed dwelling structure used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia."]

    Joseph Romm: Do You Want Tucker Carlson's Car? 2008

  • Here's a primer: A yurt is a circular, domed structure originally used by nomads in Mongolia, Siberia and Turkey and is now used worldwide for inexpensive or temporary housing.

    Columnist Considers Living 2007

Comments

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  • Yurts! I forgot about yurts. In the early 90s I lived in yurt for a few months, in Bowdoinham Maine.

    December 11, 2006

  • I've had a lot of fun comparing ugly modern church buildings to yurts. The resemblance is really quite striking.

    August 15, 2008

  • Snap! The Christ Church Cathedral in my town is a yurt, most definitely.

    August 15, 2008