Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

akhtar

/ˈæktɚ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.65 in modern English

Syllables
akhtar
IPA
/ˈæktɚ/
13
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A unisex given name from Persian.

name

A surname from Persian.

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindustani (through Hindi अख़्तर (axtar) / Urdu اَخْتَر (axtar)) and/or directly from Classical Persian اَخْتَر (axtar, “star”), in turn from Middle Persian 𐭠𐭧𐭲𐭫 (ʾhtl /⁠axtar⁠/), an ancient backformation from 𐭠𐭯𐭠𐭧𐭲𐭫 (ʾpʾhtl /⁠abāxtar⁠/, “planet”), due to a mistaken folk etymology that the first element ab- was a negative suffix, since Zoroastrianism considers the planets to be nefarious "un-stars" due to their astronomically odd behavior. Doublet of Tara and sitara.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: अख़्तर, اَخْتَر, 𐭠𐭧𐭲𐭫

Inflected Forms

Akhtars (plural) Akhter (alternative) Aktar (alternative) Akter (alternative)

Homonyms

actor acter

Rhymes With

factor actor reactor tractor refractor compactor schachter detractor

Questions

How do you pronounce akhtar?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈæktɚ/.
What does akhtar mean?
A unisex given name from Persian.
Where does akhtar come from?
It is traced to Hindi.

How to pronounce akhtar

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “akhtar”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈæktɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “akhtar”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “akhtar” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.