sultan

Meaning

Noun

• The holder of a secular office, formally subordinate to, but de facto the power behind the throne of, the caliph.
• 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, Morocco (until 1956) or an empire such as the Turkish Ottoman Empire.
• A variant of solitaire, played with two decks of cards.
• A breed of chicken originating in Turkey, kept primarily in gardens for ornamental reasons. See: sultan (chicken)

Origin

• From French sultan, from Ottoman Turkish سلطان, from Arabic سُلْطَان, from Aramaic שולטנא ("strength, authority, ruler, prince"), from the root (compare Hebrew שִׁלְטוֹן and Hebrew סוּלְטָן). soldan.