A kurtka () is the generic word for a

jacket A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. Jackets without sleeves are vests. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and ...

in a number of European languages, most notably in Polish and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Etymology

The word itself is a Slavic diminutive of the original Hungarian word ''kurta'', which in turn was derived of the Latin word ''curtus'', "excurtus", meaning short (see Alejandro Cioranescu: Diccionario Etimologico Rumano).

Military uniforms

In terms of

military uniform A military uniform is a standardised clothing, dress worn by members of the armed forces and Paramilitary, paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and styles have gone through significant changes over the centuries, from colourful ...

s, the kurtka was a type of close fitting double breasted jacket, cut to the waist and often worn with a plastron, a contrasting-coloured panel of cloth covering the chest. It was worn by

lancer A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by India, Egypt, China, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...

s and

uhlan Uhlan (; ; ; ; ) is a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. The uhlans started as Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, Lithuanian irregular cavalry, that were later also adopted by other countries during the 18th century, including Polis ...

s, a type of

light cavalry Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and body armor, armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders (and sometimes the warhorses) were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was p ...

which had its origins in the

Lipka Tatars The Lipka Tatars are a Turkic ethnic group and minority in Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus who originally settled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the beginning of the 14th century. The first Tatar settlers tried to preserve their Pagan tradi ...

who served the kings of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, but were widely copied by the armies of many western nations from the start of the 19th century along with their distinctive style of dress. The lancer's kurtka developed from a jacket called a ''kontusz'', which during the late 18th century became shortened into the kurtka. Damba radnaev

Martial arts

In addition to the general meaning of "jacket", the word ''kurtka'' refers to the garment normally worn by Sambo practitioners, similar to the

keikogi (, 'practice', , 'dress' or 'clothes'), also known as or , is a traditional uniform worn for training in Japanese martial arts and their derivatives. Emerging in the late 19th century, the was developed by judo founder Kanō Jigorō. Origin J ...

in style and function, although it is tighter fitting and has epaulettes and belt loops.Green, Thomas A. (editor) 2001
''Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia - Volume One: A-Q''
ABC-CLIO Inc. (p. 512) A kurtka should be made of canvas or other heavy material, should be tight-fitting, should not extend more than eight inches below the belt (roughly equal to the bottom of the sleeve) and the sleeves must be long enough to cover the arms to the wrists, and wide enough at the end to fit the wrist and four fingers.

References

External links

Jackets Military uniforms Sportswear {{Clothing-stub pl:Kurtka

Etymology

Military uniforms

Martial arts

See also

References

External links