Meaning

noun the ruler of a Muslim country (especially of the former Ottoman Empire)

originEtymology tree Arabic سُلْطَان (sulṭān)bor. Ottoman Turkish سلطانbor. ▲ Arabic سُلْطَان (sulṭān)der. Middle French sultanbor. ▲ Arabic سُلْطَان (sulṭān)bor. Medieval Latin sultanusbor. English sultan 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…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0