Word.ws English Dictionary

Kushan

/ˈkʊʃɑːn/

Kushan noun: a member of an ancient Central Asian tribe; later, a member of the ruling dynasty and people of the Kushan Empire. Also the alternative form of Gushan.

Noun

Kushan (plural Kushans)

  1. A member of an ancient Central Asian tribe; later, a member of the ruling dynasty and people of the Kushan Empire.
    • The nomadic tribe of the Kushans came from the Central Asian steppes […]2008, Gandhara, the Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan
    Synonyms:
    Kushana, Kushanian

Adjective

Kushan (comparative more Kushan, superlative most Kushan)

  1. Of or relating to the Kushans or their realm.

Proper noun

Kushan

  1. (rare) Synonym of Kushan Empire
    • Lokakshema, who went to China at about the same time as An Shigao, was born in Kushan, a large country that spread from Central Asia to northwestern India and was the most powerful nation in the area.1982, Buddhist Sutras: Origin, Development, Transmission, page 45
    Synonyms:
    Kushan Empire
  2. The Bactrian language.

Also used as

Kushan is also the alternative form of Gushan.

Kushan meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Sanskrit

Kushan in Hindi

member of ancient Central Asian tribe; member of the ruling dynasty and people of the Kushan Empire
कुषाण kuṣāṇ

Kushan in Marathi

member of ancient Central Asian tribe; member of the ruling dynasty and people of the Kushan Empire
कुषाण kuṣāṇ
of or relating to the Kushans or their realm
कुषाण kuṣāṇ

Kushan in Urdu

member of ancient Central Asian tribe; member of the ruling dynasty and people of the Kushan Empire
کُوشان kūśān

Kushan in Sanskrit

member of ancient Central Asian tribe; member of the ruling dynasty and people of the Kushan Empire
कुषाण kuṣāṇa
More languagesFewer languages
Kushan in Arabic
كُوشَانِيّ kūšāniyy, كُوشَانِيَّة kūšāniyya

Synonyms of Kushan

Forms of Kushan

Noun
pluralKushans
Adjective
comparativemore Kushan
superlativemost Kushan

Origin of Kushan

From Sanskrit कुषाण (kuṣāṇa) via Hindi कुषाण (kuṣāṇ), or from Middle Persian [script needed] (kušān /⁠kwšn⁠/), either way from Bactrian Κοϸανο (Košano), ultimately from Chinese 貴霜／贵霜 (Guìshuāng) (compare Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit guṣāṇa). Doublet of Kushana. The conventional name Kushan and the proposed connection with the Chinese term are due to Alexander Cunningham's Coins of the Indo-Scythians, Sakas & Kushans (1899).

Borrowed from Mandarin 鼓山 (Gǔshān) Wade–Giles romanization: Ku³-shan¹.

Words formed from Kushan

Questions about Kushan

What does Kushan mean?
Kushan means a member of an ancient Central Asian tribe; later, a member of the ruling dynasty and people of the Kushan Empire.
What is Kushan in Hindi?
Kushan in Hindi is कुषाण (kuṣāṇ). See Kushan meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is Kushan?
Kushan can be a noun, an adjective or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce Kushan?
Kushan is pronounced /ˈkʊʃɑːn/ (UK).
What is the plural of Kushan?
The plural of Kushan is Kushans.

Words near Kushan in the dictionary

  1. kush
  2. kusha
  3. Kushagra
  4. Kushal
  5. Kushalgarh
  6. Kushan
  7. Kushan Empire
  8. Kushana
  9. Kushana Empire
  10. Kushanas
  11. Kushanian

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Kushan (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Kushan.wav.

Cite this entry: “Kushan.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/kushan. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.