khan

See also: Khan, khàn, and khăn

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɑːn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːn
• (Australia, New Zealand, Received Pronunciation) Homophone: carn
• (US) Homophone: con

Etymology 1

Via late Middle English from Old French chan, from Medieval Latin chanis, from Turkic kan (“prince, lord”)/khan, contraction of khaqan (“sovereign, ruler”). Related to Mongolian ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ (khan, “lord, prince”).

Noun

khan (plural khans)

1. after Genghis Khan, a ruler over various Turkish, Tatar and Mongol peoples in the Middle Ages
2. an Ottoman sultan
3. a noble or man of rank in various Muslim countries of Central Asia, including Afghanistan

Derived terms

• khanate

Translations

a ruler over various Turkic, Tatar and Mongol peoples in the Middle Ages

• Arabic: خان m (ḵān)
• Armenian: խան (xan)
• Azeri: xan
• Bashkir: хан (xan)
• Belarusian: хан m (xan)
• Bengali: খান (khan)
• Bulgarian: кан m (kan), хан (bg) m (han)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 可汗 (zh) (kèhán), 汗 (zh) (hán) (as a suffix only)

• Chuvash: хан (han)
• Crimean Tatar: han
• Czech: chán m
• Esperanto: ĥano
• Estonian: khaan
• Finnish: kaani (fi)
• French: khan (fr) m
• Georgian: ხანი (xani)
• German: Khan (de) m
• Greek: χάνος (el) m (chános)
• Hindi: खान (khān), खन m (khan), ख़ान m (xān)
• Japanese: カーン (kān), カン (ja) (kan), ハーン (hān)
• Kazakh: хан (xan)
• Khmer: ខាន់ (km) (kʰan)
• Korean: 칸 (ko) (kan)
• Kyrgyz: хан (han), каган (kagan)
• Latvian: hans m

• Lithuanian: chanas m
• Macedonian: кан m (kan), хан m (han)
• Manchu: ᡥᠠᠨ
• Mongolian: хаан (haan), ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ, хан (han)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: khan m

• Oriya: please add this translation if you can
• Persian: خان (fa) (xân)
• Polish: chan (pl) m
• Portuguese: cã (pt) m
• Romanian: han (ro) m
• Russian: хан (ru) m (xan)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: кан m

  Roman: kan m

• Spanish: kan (es) m
• Swedish: khan (sv)
• Tamil: கான் (ta) (kāṉ)
• Tatar: хан (tt) (xan), каган (tt) (qağan)
• Turkish: han (tr), kağan (tr), hakan (tr)
• Ukrainian: хан (uk) m (xan)
• Urdu: خان m (xān)
• Uyghur: خان (xan)
• Uzbek: hon
• Vietnamese: hãn, khan (vi)

an Ottoman sultan

a noble man in various Muslim countries

Etymology 2

From Persian خان (xân, “caravanserai”).

Noun

khan (plural khans)

1. a caravanserai; a resting-place for a travelling caravan

   • 1923: ‘Guess the name of that,’ she said, pointing to her delicate parts. The porter tried this name and that and ended by asking her to tell him and cease her slapping. ‘The khān of Abu-Mansur,’ she replied. — The Thousand Nights and One Night, tr. Powys Mathers

See also

• caravanserai

Anagrams

• ankh
• hank, Hank

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Portuguese

Noun

khan m (plural khans)

1. Alternative spelling of cã