sultan

sul·tan
S1U1L1T1A1N1
/ˈsʌltən/

noun

The holder of a secular office, formally subordinate to, but de facto the power behind the throne of, the caliph.

Similar
Less commonScrabble 6

Meanings

sultan1

nounsultan (countable and uncountable, plural sultans or (rare, only in certain senses) salateen)

plural sultans · plural rare salateen · alternative archaic sultân · alternative rare sulṭān

  1. countablehistoricaluncountableThe holder of a secular office, formally subordinate to, but de facto the power behind the throne of, the caliph.
  2. countableuncountableA hereditary ruler in various Muslim states (sultanate), varying from petty principalities (as in Yemen), often vassal of a greater ruler, to independent realms, such as Oman, Brunei, Morocco (until 1957) or an empire such as the Turkish Ottoman Empire.

    Here from the king's mountain view Here from the wild dream come true Feast like a sultan, I do On treasures and flesh never few

    2006, “Jambi”, performed by Tool
  3. uncountablecard gamesA variant of solitaire, played with two decks of cards.
  4. countableuncountableA breed of chicken originating in Turkey, kept primarily in gardens for ornamental reasons. See: sultan (chicken)

Sultan2

proper noun
  1. A glacier in Antarctica
  2. A town, village and mountain range in Turkey.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounthe ruler of a Muslim country (especially of the former Ottoman Empire)

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Arabicسُلْطَان (sulṭān)
  2. Ottoman Turkishسلطان
  3. Arabicسُلْطَان (sulṭān)
  4. Middle Frenchsultan
  5. Arabicسُلْطَان (sulṭān)
  6. Medieval Latinsultanus
  7. Englishsultan

Borrowed from Middle French sultan or Medieval Latin sultanus, from Ottoman Turkish سلطان (sultan), from Arabic سُلْطَان (sulṭān, “strength, authority, ruler”). Compare Hebrew שִׁלְטוֹן (shiltón) and סוּלְטָן (sultán). Doublet of soldan.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic سُلْطَان, سُلْطَان
  • سُلْطَان (sulṭān)office
  • سُلْطَان (sulṭān)ruler
Bengali সুলতান
  • সুলতান (śultan)ruler
Bulgarian султа́н
  • султа́н (sultán)ruler
Catalan sultà, soldà
  • sultàruler
  • soldàruler
Chinese Mandarin 蘇丹 /苏丹
  • 蘇丹 /苏丹 (sūdān)ruler
Czech sultán
  • sultánruler
Danish sultan
  • sultanruler
Dutch sultan
  • sultanruler
Esperanto sultano
  • sultanoruler
Estonian sultan
  • sultanruler
Finnish sulttaani
  • sulttaaniruler
French sultan, soudan
  • sultanruler
  • soudanruler
German Sultan
  • Sultanruler
Greek σουλτάνος
  • σουλτάνος (soultános)ruler
Hebrew סולטאן, סֻלְטָאן
  • סולטאןruler
  • סֻלְטָאן (sultán)ruler
Hindi सुल्तान, सुलतान
  • सुल्तान (sultān)ruler
  • सुलतान (sultān)ruler
Hungarian szultán
  • szultánruler
Icelandic soldán
  • soldánruler
Indonesian sultan
  • sultanruler
Irish sabhdán
  • sabhdánruler
Italian sultano
  • sultanoruler
Japanese スルタン
  • スルタン (surutan)ruler
Korean 술탄
  • 술탄 (sultan)ruler
Latin sultanus
  • sultanusruler
Latvian sultāns
  • sultānsruler
Lithuanian sultonas
  • sultonasruler
Malay sultan
  • sultanruler
Norwegian Bokmål sultan
  • sultanruler
Polish sułtan
  • sułtanruler
Portuguese sultão
  • sultãoruler
Punjabi ਸੁਲਤਾਨ
  • ਸੁਲਤਾਨ (sultān)ruler
Romanian sultan
  • sultanruler
Russian султа́н, султа́н
  • султа́н (sultán)office
  • султа́н (sultán)ruler
Slovak sultán
  • sultánruler
Spanish sultán, soldán
  • sultánruler
  • soldánruler
Swahili sultani
  • sultaniruler
Swedish sultan
  • sultanruler
Tagalog sultan
  • sultanruler
Tamil சுல்தான்
  • சுல்தான் (cultāṉ)ruler
Thai สุลต่าน
  • สุลต่าน (sǔn-lá-dtàan)ruler
Turkish sultan
  • sultanruler
Ukrainian султа́н
  • султа́н (sultán)ruler
Urdu سُلْطان
  • سُلْطان (sultān)ruler
Vietnamese vua, xun-tan
  • vuaruler
  • xun-tanruler
Yiddish סולטאַן
  • סולטאַן (sultan)ruler

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

sultan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sultan

MLA

“sultan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sultan. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sultan,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sultan.

Source: sultan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.