Etymology

mukhtar

mukh·tar
M3U1K5H4T1A1R1

Today it 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. Full definition →

First used early 19th – mid 20th c.North Levantine Arabic مختار ← Arabic مُخْتَار ← Ottoman Turkish مختار
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mukhtar · noun1

  1. Urdu · borrowed fromمختار“agent; lawyer”
  2. Marathi · borrowed fromमुख्तार
  3. Bengali · borrowed fromমুখতার
  4. Ottoman Turkish · borrowed fromمختار“village headman”
  5. Arabic · derived fromمُخْتَار“chosen”
  6. North Levantine Arabic · borrowed fromمختار“village headman”
  7. English todaymukhtar

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.

Mukhtar · proper noun2

See mukhtar.

Words from the same roots

North Levantine Arabicمختار all →

muhtar

Arabicمُخْتَار all →

muhtar

Ottoman Turkishمختار all →

muhtar

First known use, by meaning

  • early 19th – mid 20th c. A person acting as an agent, particularly a lawyer.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.