mukhtar

/ˈmʊktɑː/

//ˈmʊktɑː// noun

"mukhtar" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mukhtar” is uncommon English (frequency #56,925 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#56,925
frequency rank, English
36,575
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A minor official—usually overseeing a village or town—in many Arab countries and (historical) in the Ottoman Empire and its successor states, including Turkey, Northern Cyprus, and formerly Albania.

Key facts for mukhtar
PropertyValue
Headwordmukhtar
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmʊktɑː/
Letters7
Frequency rank#56,925
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mukhtar” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). mukhtar lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mukhtar is uncommon English at frequency #56,925 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmʊktɑː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for mukhtar, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From North Levantine Arabic مختار (“village headman”), from substantive application of Arabic مُخْتَار (muḵtār, “chosen”), the passive participle of اِخْتَارَ (iḵtāra, “to elect, to choose”). Specific application with influence from various local languages … The correct English form is mukhtar, spelled M-U-K-H-T-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A minor official—usually overseeing a village or town—in many Arab countries and (historical) in the Ottoman Empire and its successor states, including Turkey, Northern Cyprus, and formerly Albania.
  2. 2
    A minor official—usually overseeing a village or town—in many Arab countries and (historical) in the Ottoman Empire and its successor states, including Turkey, Northern Cyprus, and formerly Albania.
  3. 3
    A person acting as an agent, particularly a lawyer.

Etymology

From North Levantine Arabic مختار (“village headman”), from substantive application of Arabic مُخْتَار (muḵtār, “chosen”), the passive participle of اِخْتَارَ (iḵtāra, “to elect, to choose”). Specific application with influence from various local languages including Ottoman Turkish مختار (muhtar, “village headman”) and Bengali মুখতার (mukhtar), Marathi मुख्तार (mukhtār), and Urdu مختار (muktār, “agent; lawyer”). Within Indian English, the application of mukhtar is influenced by a folk etymology derivation from Sanskrit मुक्ति (mukti, “liberation, becoming or setting free”). Doublet of muhtar.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mukhtar"?
"mukhtar" is spelled M-U-K-H-T-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmʊktɑː/.
What does "mukhtar" mean?
As a noun, "mukhtar" means: A minor official—usually overseeing a village or town—in many Arab countries and (historical) in the Ottoman Empire and its successor states, including Turkey, Northern Cyprus, and formerly Albania.
How do you pronounce "mukhtar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mukhtar" is /ˈmʊktɑː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "mukhtar"?
From North Levantine Arabic مختار (“village headman”), from substantive application of Arabic مُخْتَار (muḵtār, “chosen”), the passive participle of اِخْتَارَ (iḵtāra, “to elect, to choose”). Specific application with influence from various local ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “mukhtar”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is M-U-K-H-T-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈmʊktɑː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list