Sultan

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsÊŒltÉ™n/
• Hyphenation: sul + tan
• Rhymes: -ÊŒltÉ™n

Origin

From French sultan, from Turkish sultan, from Arabic سُلْطَانٌ, from Aramaic שולטנא (šulṭānā, "strength, authority") (compare Hebrew שִׁלְטוֹן).

"sultan" in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition (2008).

Compare soldan.

Full definition of sultan

Noun

1. Originally, a secular office, formally subordinate to -, but de facto the power behind the throne of the (theoretically universal) caliph.
2. A hereditary ruler in various Muslim states (sultanate), varying from petty principalities (as in Indonesia and in Yemen), often vassal of a greater ruler, to independent realms, such as Oman, Brunei, or an empire such as the Turkish Ottoman Empire.
3. (card games) A variant of solitaire, played with two decks of cards.
4. A breed of chicken originating in Turkey, kept primarily in gardens for ornamental reasons. See: sultan (chicken)

Derived terms

• sultana
• sultanate