tarkhan
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.16 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An ancient Central Asian title used by various Turkic, Mongolic and Indo-European (Scythian and Tokharian) peoples, especially in the medieval era, and prominently among the successors of the Mongol Empire; it generally conferred exemption from taxation.
Example Sentences
- "The tarkhan, leader of the Khazar army, meets Amram, Zelikman and a green-eyed young person who claims to be Alp, the brother of Filaq."
- "Already by the time of Genghis Khan, tarkhans were exempt from taxes and various economic services; they later became a privileged estate or class. In the Kazanian society, the tarkhans constituted a privileged, landowning, and conditionally hereditary nobility which was exempted from taxes and most other obligations."
Etymology
From a descendant of Proto-Turkic *tarkan, ultimate origin uncertain. See Chinese 單于 (chányú) and the Wikipedia page for more. Doublet of chanyu.
Word Breakdown
- Root: *tarkan