Turkman

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person belonging to the Turkmen ethnic group or originating from Turkmenistan in Central Asia
2. An individual of Turkmen descent or nationality, typically from the Central Asian region of Turkmenistan
3. A member of the Turkmen people or a native of Turkmenistan, an independent nation in Central Asia

Etymology: The word "turkman" is a singular form that English built from a plural. The plural "Turkmen" came into English first, and English speakers then treated its final "-men" as if it were the plural of "man," so they created a singular "turkman" to go with it. The same pattern gave English "Turkman" as a singular of a people's name whose plural ending had been misread. The underlying name travelled a long way before reaching English. It was borrowed into Ottoman Turkish as "Türkmân," and that form came from the Persian "torkamân," a word used for the Turkic peoples of Central Asia. Because the same name entered English by several routes, English now has "Turcoman," "Turkmen," and "turkman" as doublets, all descended from one source.