Etymograph

English

turban

Turban comes from Middle French turbant, from Italian turbante, from Ottoman Turkish دلبند ‘cheesecloth, muslin’, and ultimately from Classical Persian دلبند ‘turban’.

  1. Classical Persianc. 900–presentدلبند1dulband
  2. Ottoman Turkishc. 1300–1928دلبند1tülbent‘cheesecloth, muslin’
  3. Italianc. 1300–presentturbante1
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600turbant1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1644turban1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English turban
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1644, James Howell, England’s Teares: “Me thinks I ſee the Turke nodding vvith his…”.

Lineage

  1. Classical Persianc. 900–presentدلبندWiktionary, English turbandulband
  2. Ottoman Turkishc. 1300–1928دلبندWiktionary, English turbantülbent‘cheesecloth, muslin’
  3. Italianc. 1300–presentturbanteWiktionary, English turban
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600turbantWiktionary, English turban
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1644turbanWiktionary, English turban. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1644, James Howell, England’s Teares: “Me thinks I ſee the Turke nodding vvith his…”

Word family

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

through Ottoman Turkish دلبند ‘kind of gauzy cotton used in the production of turbans’

1 more relative in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A man's headdress made by winding a length of cloth round the head.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “turban”. 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 / Classical Persian دلبند / turban