1. One of the principal
rivers of
Russia, rising in the
Sayan Mountains in
Mongolia, near the lake
Khubsugul (
Höbsögöl), flowing northward, being joined by the
Angara and then by the Stony or Lower
Tunguska, and reaching the
Arctic Sea in the west of the
Taymyr National
Okrug.
2. Also, a Siberian language, alternatively known as Ket, Yeniseian, or Yenisei-Ostyak. It has only a few thousand speakers.
It is an isolate, that is it is not known to be related to any other language. There are a number of these scattered across Siberia, and they are sometimes termed Palaeo-Siberian, but this falsely implies that they are related to each other. Some linguists think they can see a distant affinity of Ket with the Sino-Tibetan languages.
There were formerly a number of other languages in the area, related to Ket, but they have died out. Together they may be termed the Yeniseian family. Their names are: Kott, Yug, Arin, Assan, and Pumpokol.