khan
/kɑːn/
khan noun: a ruler over various Turkic and Mongol peoples in the Middle Ages.
Noun (1)
khan (plural khans)
Noun (2)
khan (plural khans)
- 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
- Synonym of fonduk (“inn or hotel in Middle Eastern contexts”).
- Synonyms:
- fonduk
Proper noun capitalized: Khan
IPA/ˈkɑːn/
Khan
- A male given name used extensively among Muslims of South Asia.
- 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
| plural | khans |
|---|---|
| alternative form (obsolete) | chan |
| alternative form (obsolete) | cham |
| alternative form (obsolete) | can |
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
- Aga Khan
- Khan Yunis
- Khan Yunus
- Gengis Khan
- Khan Tengri
- Khan Younis
- Zingis Khan
- Chingis Khan
- Genghis Khan
- Ghengis Khan
- Chinggis Khan
- Chinghis Khan
7 more phrasesFewer phrases
Words that rhyme with khan
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
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.
