Turk
/tɜːrk/noun
A member of a Turkic people, especially one from Turkey.
Did you know?The name ultimately appears in medieval Chinese records as a label for Turkic peoples, and by the time it reached Europe it had become a broad ethnonym for steppe confederations rather than a single tribe.
Etymological Timeline
6th Century
Chinese
突厥
“A Chinese name for the Göktürks, a powerful Turkic confederation”
8th Century
Old Turkic
𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰
“An ethnonym used by Turkic peoples for themselves”
9th-10th Century
Arabic
ترك
“A name for Turkic peoples known to the Islamic world”
11th-13th Century
Medieval Latin
Turcus
“A Turk; a member of the Turkic peoples”
14th Century
Middle English
Turk
“A Turk; a person from the Turkic peoples”
Modern English
English
Turk
“A member of a Turkic people, especially one from Turkey”