Where does “çar” come from?
çar (Turkish) comes from Ottoman Turkish چار, from Russian царь, from Old East Slavic цьсарь, from Old East Slavic цѣсарь, from Proto-Slavic cěsařь, from Proto-Germanic kaisaraz, from Latin Caesar, from Latin caesaries — hair.
çar (Turkish): tzar
Ancestry of “çar”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Ottoman Turkish | چار | — |
| 2 | Russian | царь | tsar, Russian emperor; king |
| 3 | Old East Slavic | цьсарь | — |
| 4 | Old East Slavic | цѣсарь | emperor, king |
| 5 | Proto-Slavic | cěsařь | emperor, king |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | kaisaraz | emperor |
| 7 | Latin | Caesar | Julius Caesar; emperor |
| 8 | Latin | caesaries | or hair |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kéysero- | hair |