# Karakhanid

> English word · Proper noun

## Definitions
1. An extinct Turkic language developed in the 11th century under the Kara-Khanid Khanate, noted as the first literary Islamic Turkic language. Though it is similar to Old Uyghur, it had several loanwords from Persian and Arabic. Chagatai is a descendant of this language.

## Etymology
From Persian قراخانیان (qarâkhân), of Turkic origin, from Old Turkic 𐰴𐰺𐰀 (qr¹a, “black; courageous”) (from Proto-Turkic *kara) + 𐰴𐰍𐰣 (qǧn¹, “khan, ruler”) (corresponding to modern English khan).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/karakhanid
