Etymology Explorer › Turkish

Where does “-han” come from?

-han (Turkish) comes from Turkish han, from Ottoman Turkish خان, from Classical Persian خان, from Old Turkic 𐰴𐰣, from Old Turkic 𐰴𐰍𐰣, from English kagan — Alternative spelling of khagan.

Ancestry of “-han”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Turkishhankhan; inn
2Ottoman Turkishخانinn, caravanserai; khan
3Classical Persianخان—
4Old Turkic𐰴𐰣—
5Old Turkic𐰴𐰍𐰣khagan; king; ruler
6EnglishkaganAlternative spelling of khagan
Every word from English kagan →