Etymology

khan

K5H4A1N1

Today it means: A ruler over various Turkic and Mongol peoples in the Middle Ages. Full definition →

Middle English can, chan ← Old French chan ← Medieval Latin chanis
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khan · noun1

  1. Middle Mongol · borrowed fromᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ
  2. Turkic · derived from
  3. Medieval Latin · derived fromchanis
  4. Old French · derived fromchan
  5. Middle English · inherited fromcan, chan
  6. English todaykhan

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.

khan · noun2

  1. Persian · derived fromخان“inn, caravanserai”
  2. Arabic · borrowed fromخَان“inn, caravanserai, hotel”
  3. English todaykhan

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

Khan · proper noun3

  1. Turkic · derived from
  2. Classical Persian · derived fromخَان
  3. Hindustani · derived from
  4. English todayKhan

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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.