Etymograph

English

emir

Emir comes from Ottoman Turkish امیر ‘commander’, and goes back to Arabic أَمِير.

  1. Arabicc. 500–presentأَمِير1ʔamīr‘commander’
  2. Ottoman Turkishc. 1300–1928امیر1emir‘commander’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600emir1
  4. Englishtodayemir1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English emir

Lineage

  1. Arabicc. 500–presentأَمِيرWiktionary, English emirʔamīr‘commander’
  2. Ottoman Turkishc. 1300–1928امیرWiktionary, English emiremir‘commander’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600emirWiktionary, English emir
  4. EnglishtodayemirWiktionary, English emir

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with emir, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Arabic أَمِير ‘commander, prince’

7 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A prince, commander or other leader or ruler in an Islamic nation.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “emir”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Arabic أَمِير / emir