See Also: khan(dictionary)
Aga Khan(encyclopedia)
Aga Khan, the(dictionary)
khan(encyclopedia)
khan(2)(dictionary)
khan(1)(dictionary)
Aga Khan Hospital(health)
Kublai Khan(encyclopedia)
khan (as used in expressions)(encyclopedia)
Genghis Khan(dictionary)

khan(1) (iou)



khan noun1. [k¨»:n, kan] LME.
[Old French chan or medieval Latin ca(a)nus from Turkic (hence Mongolian, Arab., Persian) an lord, prince, identified with &kdbelow;a'an var. of a&kdbelow;an supreme ruler: cf. CHAGAN, CHAM noun.]
Orig., any of the various successors of Genghis Khan, supreme rulers over Turkish, Tartar, and Mongol peoples and emperors of China in the Middle Ages; later, an Ottoman sultan. Also, a principal noble of the Mughal empire; a ruler, official, or man of rank in Afghanistan, Persia, or other Muslim countries of central Asia. Formerly also used as a polite form of address affixed to a Muslim name (and now a common surname among Muslims of the Indian subcontinent).
khanate noun (Hist.) a district governed by a khan; the position of khan: L18.