Word.ws English Dictionary

khan

/kɑːn/

khan noun: a ruler over various Turkic and Mongol peoples in the Middle Ages.

Noun (1)

khan (plural khans)

  1. (historical) A ruler over various Turkic 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.

Noun (2)

khan (plural khans)

  1. Synonym of caravanserai (particularly in Middle Eastern contexts)
    • ‘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.1923, Powys Mathers, transl., The Thousand Nights and One Night
    • At each of these stations there is a hostelry which they call a khan, where travellers alight with their beasts, and outside each khan is a public watering-place and a shop at which the traveller may buy what he requires for himself and his beast.1958-1994, Hamilton Gibb & CF Beckingham, in The Travels of Ibn Battutah, Folio Society 2012, page 27
    Synonyms:
    caravanserai
  2. Synonym of fonduk (“inn or hotel in Middle Eastern contexts”).
    Synonyms:
    fonduk

Proper noun capitalized: Khan

IPA/ˈkɑːn/

Khan

  1. A male given name used extensively among Muslims of South Asia.
  2. A surname derived from the given name.
    • "Sunscreens protect you from UVA/UVB rays which can be emitted from many sources of light such as the sun, your tubelight and devices," Dr Kaleem Khan said, adding that using sunscreen once a day is the bare minimum you can do for your skin.2021 April 4, “Here’s why Gwyneth Paltrow’s application of sunscreen in a recent video is highly misleading”, in Raj Kamal Jha, editor, The Indian Express, Noida, Uttar Pradesh: Indian Express...

khan meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

khan in Hindi

a ruler over various Turkic and Mongol peoples in the Middle Ages
खान khān, खन khan, ख़ान xān, ख़ागान xāgān, ख़ाक़ान xāqān

khan in Tamil

a ruler over various Turkic and Mongol peoples in the Middle Ages
கான் kāṉ

khan in Marathi

a ruler over various Turkic and Mongol peoples in the Middle Ages
खान khāna
an Ottoman sultan
खान khān
a noble man in various Muslim countries
खान khān

khan in Urdu

a ruler over various Turkic and Mongol peoples in the Middle Ages
خان xān, خاقان xāqān
More languagesFewer languages
khan in Bengali
খান khan
khan in Telugu
ఖాన్, ఖాను
khan in Malayalam
ഖാൻ
khan in Kannada
ಖಾನ್
khan in Punjabi
خان xān
khan in Gujarati
ખાન khān, ખાં khā̃
khan in Odia
ଖାନ୍, ଖାନ
khan in Arabic
خَان ḵān
khan in Persian
خان xân, خاقان xâqân
khan in Thai
ข่าน kàan
khan in Vietnamese
hãn, khả hãn

Synonyms of khan

Forms of khan

pluralkhans
alternative form (obsolete)chan
alternative form (obsolete)cham
alternative form (obsolete)can

Plural of khan: khans

Origin of khan

Via late Middle English can, chan from Old French chan, from Medieval Latin chanis, from Turkic *qan, contraction of *qaɣan. Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰴𐰍𐰣 (qaɣan), and Mongolian хаан (xaan), possibly from Rouran. Sense 1 (ruler in the Middle Ages) after Genghis Khan, from Middle Mongol ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ (qaɣan). Doublet of khagan.

From Arabic خَان (ḵān, “inn, caravanserai, hotel”) and Persian خان (xân, “inn, caravanserai”).

As a surname, via Hindustani خان (xān) / ख़ान (xān), from Classical Persian خَان (xān), from Turkic. As a title, a proper noun form of khan.

Words formed from khan

Phrases with khan

7 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with khan

34 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about khan

What does khan mean?
Khan means a ruler over various Turkic and Mongol peoples in the Middle Ages.
What is khan in Hindi?
Khan in Hindi is खान (khān), खन (khan), ख़ान (xān). See Khan meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is khan?
Khan can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce khan?
Khan is pronounced /kɑːn/.
What is the plural of khan?
The plural of khan is khans.

Words near khan in the dictionary

  1. khamseens
  2. khamsin
  3. khamsins
  4. Khamtanga
  5. Khamti
  6. khan
  7. Khan Tengri
  8. Khan Younis
  9. Khan Younus
  10. Khan Yunis
  11. Khan Yunus

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: khan (page history and authors); Khan (page history and authors); khan (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); khan (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); khan (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); خان (Punjabi) (page history and authors); khan (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-khan.ogg.

Cite this entry: “khan.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/khan. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.