A fierce, cold snowstorm or blizzard of the steppes in Russia and Central Asia, capable of burying travelers and livestock in moments.
From Russian 'baran', possibly from Turkic roots meaning 'wind' or 'storm', recorded in Russian literature since the 18th century as a name for specifically severe steppe blizzards with gale-force winds.
The buran appears in Russian Romantic literature (notably Pushkin's short story 'The Blizzard') as a symbol of fate and chaos—writers chose this word because it carried the weight of real human tragedy from the steppes.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.