noun
- the Turkic, Mongolian, and Tungusic language families collectively, spoken over a broad expanse of Eurasia, from southeastern Europe to the Pacific: variously considered to be a single, genetically related family, with Japanese and Korean sometimes also included, or a group of languages with shared typologies and histories, but not genetically akin.
adjective
- of or belonging to Altaic.
- of or relating to the Altai Mountains.
noun
- a postulated family of languages of Asia and SE Europe, consisting of the Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic branches, and perhaps also Japanese, Korean, and AinuSee also Ural-Altaic
adjective
- denoting, belonging to, or relating to this linguistic family or its speakers
1832 as a linguistic family, from French Altaïque, from Altaïen, from Altai, name of a mountain range in Asia.