# sultan

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsʌltən/ · frequency rank #12,336

## Definitions
1. The holder of a secular office, formally subordinate to, but de facto the power behind the throne of, the caliph.
2. A hereditary ruler in various Muslim states (sultanate), varying from petty principalities (as in Yemen), often vassal of a greater ruler, to independent realms, such as Oman, Brunei, Morocco (until 1957) or an empire such as the Turkish Ottoman Empire.
3. A variant of solitaire, played with two decks of cards.
4. A breed of chicken originating in Turkey, kept primarily in gardens for ornamental reasons. See: sultan (chicken)

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French sultan or Medieval Latin sultanus, from Ottoman Turkish سلطان (sultan), from Arabic سُلْطَان (sulṭān, “strength, authority, ruler”). Compare Hebrew שִׁלְטוֹן (shiltón) and סוּלְטָן (sultán). Doublet of soldan.

## Easily confused with
- **Susan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sultan-vs-susan)
- **Sutton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sultan-vs-sutton)
- **sultry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sultan-vs-sultry)
- **sylvan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sultan-vs-sylvan)
- **sustain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sultan-vs-sustain)
- **stan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stan-vs-sultan)
- **Satan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/satan-vs-sultan)
- **Sudan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sudan-vs-sultan)
- **Sloan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sloan-vs-sultan)
- **Salman** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/salman-vs-sultan)
- **sullen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sullen-vs-sultan)

## Common misspellings (9)
`slutan`, `ssultan`, `sulatn`, `sulltan`, `sultann`, `sultna`, `sulttan`, `sutlan`, `usltan`

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