# mukhtar

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈmʊktɑː/ · frequency rank #56,925

## Definitions
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. 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. 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.

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