Etymology

First attested in the Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty.

From Middle Mongolian ᠬᠤᠳᠳᠤᠭ ‎(quddug, “water well”) (> Mongolian худаг ‎(hudag)), indicating that people could live only where wells could be dug.

Alternative theory postulates that this is borrowed from Middle Mongolian ᠭᠤᠳᠤᠮ ‎(ɣudum, “corridor, passage, passageway”) (> Mongolian гудам ‎(gudam)).

Pronunciation