Where does “caravanserai” come from?
Caravanserai comes from Persian کاروانسرای, combining کاروان from Middle Persian slʾd, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ker- meaning to make or build.
caravanserai (English): A roadside inn having a central courtyard where...
Definitions
- A roadside inn having a central courtyard where...
Ancestry of “caravanserai”, step by step
caravanserai traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French caravansérail
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | caravansérail | caravanserai |
| 2 | Ottoman Turkish | karvanseray | — |
| 3 | Persian | کاروانسرای | caravanserai |
| 4 | Persian | کاروان | caravan; convoy |
| 5 | Middle Persian | kʾlwʾn' | military column; caravan |
| 6 | Old Persian | 𐎣𐎠𐎼 | the people, subjects; army |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |
via Ottoman Turkish كاروانسَرای
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ottoman Turkish | كاروانسَرای | — |