# Seljuk

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˈsɛld͡ʒuːk/

## Definitions
1. Seljuk Bey, the legendary founder of an Oghuz Turk dynasty that ruled an eponymous Sunni Muslim empire in Southwest Asia and numerous successor states, particularly in Anatolia.
2. A unisex given name from Turkish.

## Etymology
From Ottoman Turkish سلجوق (selcuk), ultimately from Old Anatolian Turkish سلجك (sälcük) attested in the Dede Korkut and Karakhanid سلجك (Selcuk) attested in Mahmud al-Kashgari's Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk, of uncertain etymology. Compare modern Turkish Selçuk.
Pelliot & al. favored derivation via Arabic سَلْجُوق (Saljūq) from Proto-Oghuz [Term?] (*Sälčük), following some accounts taking the name from Proto-Turkic *sāl (“raft”) + *-čük (“-ock, -let: forming diminutives”) from the warlord's supposed birth on a raft on the Syr Darya. There are other early Persian and Arabic transcriptions, however, including سلجوك (Saljūk), سلچوق (Salčūq), and سلجق (Saljuq). Some sources take the original form of the name to have been *Salçuğ or *Salçığ with the meaning "one who fights", "disputes", or "struggles". Some arguing for an original pronunciation of [Term?] (*Selčük) or [Term?] (*Selčuk) would derive it from an early borrowing of Persian سیل (seyl, “flood”) + *-čük (“-ock, -let: forming diminutives”); others from *Sel as an earlier name of the Muztagh Ata in the Eastern Pamirs. Caferoğlu and Gedikli argue for derivation from a modified borrowing of Old Uyghur clean, pure (sil) + Proto-Turkic *-čük.

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