A kurtka (куртка) is the generic word for a jacket in a number of European languages, most notably in Polish and Russian. 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).
In addition to the general meaning of "jacket", the word kurtka refers to the garment normally worn by Sambo practitioners, similar to the keikogi in style and function. 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.
