amur
amur Lexical Profile
• noun
A major river in East Asia that forms a large portion of the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China, eventually emptying into the Strait of Tartary.
"The Amur is the world's tenth longest river and supports a diverse ecosystem, including the critically endangered Amur leopard."
A large, herbivorous freshwater fish of the minnow and carp family, native to eastern Asia and widely introduced elsewhere for aquatic weed control; often referred to as the grass carp or white amur.
"The local municipality stocked the lake with amurs to help keep the invasive algae and water weeds under control."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to the river or region, it is capitalized as 'Amur'. When referring to the grass carp, it is often written in lowercase as 'amur'.
• Rhymes for amur
Word Origin & Etymology
From Russian Аму́р (Amúr), borrowed from an indigenous Tungusic language (such as Evenki), likely meaning 'great river'. The fish known as the 'amur' is named after this river, its native habitat.