This is a list of words that have entered into the English language from the Turkic languages. Many of them came via traders and soldiers from and in the Ottoman Empire. There are some Turkic words as well, most of them entered English via the Russian language.
Introduction
Languages of Turkic peoples left numerous traces in different languages, including the English language. Turkic borrowings, which belong to the social and political vocabulary, are generally used in special literature and in the historical and ethnographical works, which relate to the life of Turkic and Muslim peoples. The ethnographical words are generally used in the scientific literature, and in the historical and ethnographical texts.
The adoption of Indian (principally Hindustani) words, among which there were some Turkic borrowings, became one of the ways for the words of the Turkic origin to penetrate English. Additionally, several words of Turkic origin penetrated English through Central or Eastern European languages like Russian and Polish. Albanian, German, Latin, Spanish, Italian, French, Hungarian and Serbo-Croatian were also intermediary languages for the Turkic words to penetrate English, as well as containing numerous Turkic loanwords themselves (e.g. Serbo-Croatian contains around 5,000 Turkic loanwords, primarily from Turkish).
In the nineteenth century, Turkic loanwords, generally of Turkish origin, began to penetrate not only through the writings of the travelers, diplomats and merchants, and through the ethnographical and historical works, but also through the press. In 1847, there were two English-language newspapers in Istanbul – The Levant Herald and The Levant Times, seven newspapers in French, one in German and 37 in Turkish. Turkish contributed the largest share of the Turkic loans, which penetrated into the English directly. This can be explained by the fact that Turkey had the most intensive and wide connections with England. Nevertheless, there are many Turkic loans in English, which were borrowed by its contacts with other peoples – Azerbaijanis, Tatars, Uzbeks, Kazakhs and Kirghiz.
Most of the Turkic loans in English carry exotic or ethnographical connotations. They do not have equivalents in English, do not have synonymic relations with primordial words, and generally are used to describe the fauna, flora, life customs, political and social life, and an administrative-territorial structure of Turkic regions. But there are many Turkic loans, which are still part of the frequently used vocabulary. Some Turkic loans have acquired new meanings, unrelated to their etymology.
To conclude, the words of the Turkic origin began penetrating English as early as the Middle Ages, the Turkic loanwords found their way into English through other languages, most frequently through French. Since the 16c, beginning from the time of the establishment of the direct contacts between England and Turkey, and Russia, in English appeared new direct borrowings from Turkic languages. German, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, French, Arabic, Armenian, Afrikaans, Hungarian, Yiddish, Hindustani, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Malayan, to a different extent, took part in the process of the transfer of the Turkic words into English. The main language from which the borrowings were made, was Turkish.
A Afshar from Turkic Afshar, "a Turkic tribe living majorly in Kerman province of Iran". A Shiraz rug of coarse weave.Merriam-Webster Unabridged – AfsharTDK Online – AfşarParvis Tanavoli On Afshar Rugs Aga or Agha from Turkish ağa, a title of rank, especially in Turkey.Encyclopædia Britannica Online – Aga Aga Khan from Turkic agha and khan, the divinely ordained head of the Nizari branch of Isma'ili Shi'a Islam.Dictionary.com – Aga Khan Agaluk from Turkish Ağalık, a feudal unit of the Ottoman Empire Airan from Turkish ayranAnswers.com – AyranFao.org – Airan in Main Categories of ProductsMerriam-Webster Online – Airan Akbash from Turkish akbaş, literally "a whitehead" Akche from Turkish akçe, also asper, an Ottoman monetary unit that consisted of small silver coins.Encyclopædia Britannica Online – Akche Akhissar from Turkish Akhisar, a city in Manisa Province, Turkey near İzmir. A kind of heavy modern carpet made at Akhisar.Merriam-Webster Unabridged – Akhissar Altay from the Altai Mountains of Central Asia, which is from Turkic-Mongolian altan, meaning "golden". 1. the Altai horse 2. the Altay sheepMerriam-Webster Unabridged – AltaiEncyclopædia Britannica Online – Altai Mountains Altilik from Turkish altılık. A coin formerly used in Turkey, originally silver, equivalent to six piastres.Merriam-Webster Unabridged – Altilik Araba (from ʿarabah or the Turkish loan form araba, arba or aroba). A horse-driven carriage. Arnaut from Turkish arnavut, "an Albanian". An inhabitant of Albania and neighboring mountainous regions, especially an Albanian serving in the Turkish army.Merriam-Webster Unabridged – Arnaut Aslan from Turkish Aslan, "lion". Astrakhan from Astrakhan, Russia, which is from Tatar or Kazakh hadžitarkhan, or As-tarxan (tarkhan of As or Alans) Karakul sheep of Russian origin or a cloth with a pile resembling karakul.Merriam-Webster Online – AstrakhanVasmer's Etymological Dictionary – Astrakhan Atabeg from Turkic atabeg, from ata, "a father" + beg "a prince".Merriam-Webster Online – AtabegEncyclopædia Britannica Online – use of Atabeg in an article Atabek from Turkic, an alternative form of Atabeg. Ataghan from Turkish yatağan, an alternative form of yatagan.Merriam-Webster Unabridged – Ataghan Ataman from Russian, from South Turkic ataman, "leader of an armed band" : ata, "father" + -man, augmentative suffix. Aul Russian, from the Tatar, Kyrgyz and Kazakh languages.Merriam-Webster Unabridged – Aul Ayran see Airan
B
Bahadur from Hindi bahādur "brave, brave person", from Persian, probably from Mongolian, cf. Classical Mongolian baγatur, which is from Turkic, perhaps originally a Turkic personal name.Dictionary.com – Bahadur Bairam from Turkish bayram, literally "a festival"Merriam-Webster Online – BairamAllwords.com – Bairam Baklava from Turkish baklavaMerriam-Webster Online – Baklava Balaclava from Balaklava, village in the Crimea, which is from Turkish balıklava. A hoodlike knitted cap covering the head, neck, and part of the shoulders and worn especially by soldiers and mountaineers.Merriam-Webster Unabridged – BalaclavaVasmer's Etymological Dictionary – Balaklava Balalaika from Russian balalaika, of Turkic origin.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language – Balalaika Balkan from Turkish balkan "a mountain chain", relating to the states of the Balkan Peninsula, or their peoples, languages, or cultures. Bamia from Turkish bamya.Merriam-Webster Unabridged – Bamia Ban from Romanian, from Serbo-Croatian ban, "lord", which is from Turkic bayan, "very rich person" : bay, "rich" + -an, intensive suff. Barbotte from Canadian French barbotte, which is from Turkish barbut. A dice game.Merriam-Webster Unabridged – Barbotte Barchan/Barkhan from Russian, which is from Kirghiz barkhan. A moving sand dune shaped like a crescent and found in several very dry regions of the worldMerriam-Webster Unabridged – Barkhan Bashaw from Turkish başa, a variant of pashaMerriam-Webster Online – Bashaw Bashi-bazouk from Turkish başıbozukEncyclopædia Britannica Online – Bashi-bazouk Bashlyk from Turkish başlık, "a hood", from baş, "a head"Merriam-Webster Online – Bashlyk Batman from Turkish batman. Any of various old Persian or Turkish units of weightMerriam-Webster Unabridged – Batman Beetewk from Russian bityug, bityuk, which is from Turkic bitük, akin to Chagatai bitü, Uzbek bitäü. A Russian breed of heavy draft horses.Merriam-Webster Unabridged – BeetewkVasmer's Etymological Dictionary – Bityug Beg from Turkic beg, an alternative form of bey Beglerbeg from Turkish beylerbeyi, a variant of beylerbeyMerriam-Webster Online – Beylerbey Begum from Urdu begam, which is from East Turkic begüm Behcet from the name of Turkish scientist Hulusi Behçet, a multisystem, chronic recurrent disease.Dictionary.com – Behcet Bektashi from Turkish bektaşiEncyclopædia Britannica Online – Bektashi Bergamot from French bergamote, from Italian bergamotta, ultimately from Turkish bey armudu, literally, "the bey's pear"Merriam-Webster Online – Bergamot Bey from Turkish beyMerriam-Webster Online – Bey Beylerbey from Turkish beylerbeyiMerriam-Webster Online – Beylerbey Beylik from Turkish beylikEncyclopædia Britannica Online – Ottoman artAnswers.com – BeylikMerriam-Webster Online – Beylic Binbashi from Turkish binbaşı, "chief of a thousand", bin "thousand" + bash "head". (Mil.) A major in the Turkish army.Dictionary.com – Binbashi Bogatyr from Russian bogatyr "hero, athlete, warrior", from Old Russian bogatyri, of Turkic origin; akin to Turkish batur "brave"Merriam-Webster Unabridged – Bogatyr Borek from Turkish börek, ultimately from root bur-, "twisted" Borunduk from Russian burunduk, which is from Mari uromdok or from Turkic burunduk. A Siberian ground squirrel.Merriam-Webster Unabridged – BorundukVasmer's Etymological Dictionary – BurundukЭтимологический Словарь – Piotr Czerwinski → Burunduk Bosa or boza from Turkish boza, a fermented drinkMerriam-Webster Unabridged – Bosa"bosa." Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd edition. 1989. Bosh from Turkish boş, which means "nonsense, empty"Merriam-Webster Online – Bosh (Bosh on wiktionary) Bostanji from Turkish bostancı, literally "a gardener"Merriam-Webster Unabridged – Bostanji Bouzouki from modern Greek mpouzoúki, which is from Turkish bozuk "broken, ruined, depraved" or büzük "constricted, puckered".Dictionary.com – Bouzouki Boyar from Russian boyarin, from Old Russian boljarin, from Turkic baylar, plural of bay, "rich"; akin to Turkish bay, "rich, gentleman".The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language – Boyar Bridge game the word came into English from the Russian word, biritch, which in turn originates from a Turkic word for "bugler" (in modern Turkish: borucu, borazancı) or might have come from a Turkish term bir, üç, or "one, three" Bugger from Middle English bougre, "heretic", from Old French boulgre, from Medieval Latin Bulgarus, from Greek Boulgaros, "Bulgarian", probably ultimately from Turkic bulghar, "of mixed origin, promiscuous" or "rebels", from bulgamaq, "to mix, stir, stir up".The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language – BuggerThe American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language – Bulgar Bulgar from Bolgar, Bolghar, former kingdom on the Volga river around Kazan (see bugger). A Russia leather originally from Bolgar.Merriam-Webster Unabridged – Bulgar Bulgur from Turkish bulgur, which means "pounded wheat"Merriam-Webster Online – Bulgur Buran from Russian buran, of Turkic origin, probably from Tatar buranVasmer's Etymological Dictionary – Buran Burka from Russian, probably from buryi "dark brown (of a horse)", probably of Turkic origin; akin to Turkish bur "red like a fox"; the Turkic word probably from Persian bor "reddish brown"; akin to Sanskrit babhru "reddish brown".Merriam-Webster Unabridged – Burka
C
Cafeneh from Turkish kahvane, kahvehane "a coffee shop, café", from kahve "coffee" + hane "house"Merriam-Webster Unabridged – CafenehDictionary.com – Cafeneh Caïque from Turkish kayıkMerriam-Webster Online – Caique Caiquejee alteration (influenced by caique) of earlier caikjee, from Turkish kayıkçı, "a boatman"Merriam-Webster Unabridged – Caiquejee Calpack from Turkish kalpakMerriam-Webster Online – Calpac Caracal from Turkish karakulak, which means "black ear"Merriam-Webster Online – Caracal Caraco from French, perhaps from Turkish kerrake "alpaca coat". A woman's short coat or jacket usually about waist length.Merriam-Webster Unabridged – Caraco Caracul from Uzbek karakul, an alteration of karakulMerriam-Webster Online – Caracul