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sultan

 - 4 dictionary results

sul⋅tan

  [suhl-tn]
Use sultan in a Sentence
–noun
1. the sovereign of an Islamic country.
2. (often initial capital letter) any of the former sovereigns of Turkey.
3. any absolute ruler or despot.
Origin:
1545–55; < MF < Turk < Ar sulṭān sovereign

Related forms:
sul⋅tan⋅ic  [suhl-tan-ik] , adjective
sul⋅tan⋅like, adjective
sul⋅tan⋅ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sul·tan   (sŭl'tən)   
n.  

  1. A ruler of a Muslim country, especially of the former Ottoman Empire.

  2. A powerful person: a sultan of vice and corruption.


[French, from Old French, ruler of Turkey, from Turkish, from Arabic sulṭān, from Aramaic šulṭānā, ruler, from šəlaṭ, to rule; see šlṭ in Semitic roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

sultan 
1555, from M.Fr. sultan "ruler of Turkey" (16c.), from Arabic sultan "ruler, king, queen, power, dominion," from Aramaic shultana "power," from shelet "have power." His wife, mother, daughter, concubine, or sister is a sultana (1585), from It. fem. of sultano, from Arabic sultan.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

sultan

originally, according to the Qur'an, moral or spiritual authority; the term later came to denote political or governmental power and from the 11th century was used as a title by Muslim sovereigns. Mahmud of Ghazna (reigned AD 998-1030) was the first Muslim ruler to be called sultan by his contemporaries, and under the Seljuqs of Anatolia and Iran it became a regular title. Thereafter it was frequently conferred on sovereigns by the caliph (titular head of the Muslim community) and came to be used throughout the Islamic world.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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