Steppe to sonnet

Turkic Words in English Literature

For six centuries, caravans, embassies and crusader romances carried Turkic speech into English prose. A khan's camp became a horde; a garden pavilion became a kiosk; a turban's cloth gave its name to the tulip. This is a reader's map of those borrowings: where they entered the language, and which writers fixed them in it.

Word Explorer

Search the lexicon, or filter by century and the Turkic branch each word came from.

Century
Origin

Quote Reader

Turkic loanwords are highlighted. Tap one to read where it came from.

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Etymology Quiz

Five questions on everyday English words with Turkic roots.

Translator

Translate text between English and Turkic languages.