khan English · revision 6619

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1400|origins=otk qaɣan}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kɑːn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English caan, [[bor|fro|chan|alt=chan, can]] and Medieval Latin caanus,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) from Turkic [[m|tr|han|t=lord, prince]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) a contraction of [[otk|qaɣan|t=ruler, sovereign]];^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Nişanyan) Nişanyan records the Old Turkic forms χan and kan in the Orkhon inscriptions (735).^(Nişanyan) The spelling khan is first found in Gibbon's “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” (1788).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The title of the rulers of the Tatar and Mongol peoples, and of the medieval emperor of China: about 1400, in ''Mandeville's Travels''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Etymonline notes that the word had been known in European languages since the 13th century, as Medieval Latin chanis and Old French chan.^(Etymonline) In later use it became a title of respect, of slight importance, given to officials and men of rank in Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan and India.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023) The feminine is [[khanum]] (1824), from Turkish hanım.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 735 – χan in the Orkhon inscriptions.^(Nişanyan)

+ * c. 1400 – caan, in Mandeville.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1788 – the spelling khan, in Gibbon.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1824 – khanum.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A title of the [[Mongol]] and [[Turkic]] rulers of the Middle Ages, as in ''Genghis Khan''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A title of respect given to rulers, officials or important men in [[Central Asia]], [[Afghanistan]] and elsewhere.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[khanate]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[khanum]]

+ * [[cham]]

+ * [[caravanserai]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate word khan, an inn or caravanserai in the Middle East, is from Arabic khān, from Persian (about 1400).^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989)^(NODE 1998) Turkish has both words as han.^(Nişanyan)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}