sultan

CEFRB2

/ˈsʌltən/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A ruler of a Muslim country or region.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A hereditary ruler in various Muslim states (sultanate), varying from petty principalities (as in Yemen), often vassal of a greater ruler, to independent realms, such as Oman, Brunei, Morocco (until 1957) or an empire such as the Turkish Ottoman Empire.

Examples

  • If I were a sultan, I'd have three wives!

  • Once the Sultan ruled over what today is Turkey.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
1

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A variant of solitaire, played with two decks of cards.

  2. The holder of a secular office, formally subordinate to, but de facto the power behind the throne of, the caliph.

  3. A breed of chicken originating in Turkey, kept primarily in gardens for ornamental reasons. See: sultan (chicken)

More examples

In context

  • Here from the king's mountain view Here from the wild dream come true Feast like a sultan, I do On treasures and flesh never few

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

In the medieval Islamic kingdom, the blank held the ultimate authority over all nobles.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

Borrowed from Middle French sultan or Medieval Latin sultanus, from Ottoman Turkish سلطان (sultan), from Arabic سُلْطَان (sulṭān, “strength, authority, ruler”). Compare Hebrew שִׁלְטוֹן (shiltón) and סוּלְטָן (sultán). Doublet of soldan.