Word.ws English Dictionary

mukhtar

Syllables: mukh·tar/ˈmʊktɑː/US/ˈmʊktɑɹ/

mukhtar noun: a minor official—usually overseeing a village or town—in many Arab countries and (historical) in the Ottoman Empire and its successor states, including Turkey, Northern Cyprus, and formerly Albania. Also the alternative spelling of muhtar.

Noun

mukhtar (plural mukhtars)

  1. A minor official—usually overseeing a village or town—in many Arab countries and (historical) in the Ottoman Empire and its successor states, including Turkey, Northern Cyprus, and formerly Albania.
    • Mukhtar Khan, the ſoubadar, who was attached to Azim Shaw, and father-in-law to Bedar Bukht, hoping to impede his progreſs, ſunk all the boats in the Jumna, and placed guards at the neareſt fords.[1786, Eradut Khan, translated by Jonathan Scott, A Translation of the Memoirs of Eradut Khan, a Nobleman of Hindostan, Containing Interesting Anecdotes of the Emperor Aulumgeer Aurungzebe, and of...
    • Afterwards, when the Raja complained against us, Mr. Ogilvy issued an order to me, No. 836 of 1845, directing us not to interfere with the jumebundee matters of the Raja, who was mooktar of his territory, but only to report cases in which he or his kharbarree might levy more than the assessment...1848 May 21, Seentakroy Anundroy, “[Charges of Bribery against Hurree Lall, Connected with the Succession of the Bhaderwa State.] Substance of a Petition from Seentakroy Anundroy, Karkoon at...
  2. (India, historical) A person acting as an agent, particularly a lawyer.
    • [W]e took leave, escorted to the gate by our two young friends, and thence by a nearer way through the ruins to our pinnace, by an elderly man, who said he was the Raja's "Muktar," or chamberlain, and whose obsequious courtesy, high reverence for his master's family, and numerous apologies for the...1827 December, “Art. VII.—Narrative of a Journey through the Upper Provinces of India, from Calcutta to Bombay, 1824–1825, […] by the late Right Rev. Reginald Heber, D.D. Lord Bishop of...
    • The Darogahs and other mofussil police officers are prohibited from employing any mokhtar or vakeel at the station of the zillah or city Magistrate, for the purpose of receiving and transmitting the salaries of the thannah establishment, or for any other purpose, connected with their public...1850, “Section X. Prohibiting Various Irregular Practices on the Part of the Police.”, in John C[lark] Marshman, compiler, The Darogah’s Manual, Comprising also the Duties of Landholders in...

Proper noun capitalized: Mukhtar

Mukhtar (plural Mukhtars)

  1. A surname from Arabic.

Also used as

mukhtar is also the alternative spelling of muhtar.

mukhtar meaning in Bengali

mukhtar in Bengali

A minor official in various Arab and Turkish contexts
মুখতার mukhtar, মোক্তার mōktar

Examples of mukhtar in a sentence

  • The Mukhtar is elected annually, and is paid by a contribution of so much per head of the population of the village.1880, [Esmé] Scott-Stevenson, “The New Administration”, in Our Home in Cyprus, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, page 75:
  • On my arrival at the gate I found that the doctor was absent; but I could see the mukhtar.1884 January 12, “A Leper Farm in Cyprus”, in Littel’s Living Age, volume XLV (5th Series; volume CLX overall), number 2064, Boston, Mass....
  • The Mudîr and Mukhtar are inferior officials of the Kaimakam.1888, G[ottlieb] Schumacher, “Position, Extent, Limits, and Administration of the Jaulân”, in [anonymous], transl., The Jaulân. Surveyed...
  • Leaflets in Arabic on some subjects, distributed to and through Mukhtars, might do good.1919 October 17, “Palestine Notes”, in The Near East, volume XVI, number 441, London: The Near East Editorial and Publishing Offices...

Forms of mukhtar

Noun
pluralmukhtars
alternative formmuhtar
alternative formmooktar
alternative formmookhtar
alternative formmuktar
alternative formmuqtar
alternative formmooktear
alternative formmuktear
Proper noun
pluralMukhtars

Origin of mukhtar

From North Levantine Arabic مختار (“village headman”), from substantive application of Arabic مُخْتَار (muḵtār, “chosen”), the passive participle of اِخْتَارَ (iḵtāra, “to elect, to choose”). Specific application with influence from various local languages including Ottoman Turkish مختار (muhtar, “village headman”) and Bengali মুখতার (mukhtar), Marathi मुख्तार (mukhtār), and Urdu مختار (muktār, “agent; lawyer”). Within Indian English, the application of mukhtar is influenced by a folk etymology derivation from Sanskrit मुक्ति (mukti, “liberation, becoming or setting free”). Doublet of muhtar.

See mukhtar.

Questions about mukhtar

What does mukhtar mean?
Mukhtar means a minor official—usually overseeing a village or town—in many Arab countries and (historical) in the Ottoman Empire and its successor states, including Turkey, Northern Cyprus, and formerly Albania.
What is mukhtar in Bengali?
Mukhtar in Bengali is মুখতার (mukhtar), মোক্তার (mōktar). See Mukhtar meaning in Bengali.
How do you use mukhtar in a sentence?
The Mukhtar is elected annually, and is paid by a contribution of so much per head of the population of the village.
What part of speech is mukhtar?
Mukhtar can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce mukhtar?
Mukhtar is pronounced /ˈmʊktɑː/ (UK).
What is the plural of mukhtar?
The plural of mukhtar is mukhtars.

Words near mukhtar in the dictionary

  1. Mukherjee
  2. Mukherjees
  3. mukhinite
  4. mukhiya
  5. mukhiyas
  6. mukhtar
  7. mukhtars
  8. mukhwas
  9. Mukilteo
  10. mukim
  11. mukimo

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: mukhtar (page history and authors); Mukhtar (page history and authors). 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.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-mukhtar.wav.

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