MWW 28: Хаан

Cyrillic	Хаан
Transcription	haan
IPA	[χa:ŋ]
Layman’s Pronunciation	HAHNG
Translation	ruler, emperor
In Genghis Khan’s time it was qaγan.

When you see the name “Genghis Khan,” the “Khan” part is not Genghis’s last name, it’s his title, marking him as the supreme ruler of the Mongols. This term didn't originate with Genghis. As a title for rulers, it actually appears throughout history in lots of different Central Asian tribes. Turkish has an equivalent word too, kağan. While it may not have been Genghis's family name, it is probably the origin of the name Khan that is found in some Asian countries.


Хаан is similar to but distinct from хан, which in olden times referred to the ruler of a mere province or region. Genghis on the hand, was the supreme ruler, the хаан, with a double аа: twice the vowel length, twice as important. Actually, the long vowel is only modern Mongolian - originally it was qaghan, with a consonant in the middle. However, since that consonant gh is the voiced counterpart to the q that begins the word, I wonder: was reduplication at work here long ago, and can I find it in any other words? Could a similar process have been at work in making the word for queen, хатан?