- khan
- c.1400, from Turk., lit. "lord, prince," contraction of khaqan "ruler, sovereign." Known in Europe since 13c., cf. L. chanis, Gk. kanes, O.Fr. chan.
- Xanadu
- Mongol city founded by Kublai Khan, 1625, Anglicized form of Shang-tu. Sense of "dream place of magnificence and luxury" derives from Coleridge's poem (1816).
- cannibal
- 1550s, from Sp. canibal "a savage, cannibal," from Caniba, Christopher Columbus' rendition of the Caribs' name for themselves (see Caribbean). The natives were believed to be anthropophagites. Columbus, seeking evidence that he was in Asia, thought the name meant the natives were subjects of the Great Khan. Shakespeare's Caliban (in "The Tempest") is a version of this word, with -n- and -l- interchanged, found in Hakluyt's "Voyages" (1599). The Sp. word had reached French by 1515.
- hen
- O.E. hen, from W.Gmc. *khannjo (cf. M.Du. henne, O.H.G. henna), fem. of *khan(e)ni "male fowl, cock" (cf. O.E. hana "cock"), lit. "bird who sings for sunrise," from PIE base *kan- "to sing" (see chant). The original masc. word survives in Ger. (Hahn "cock"), Swed., Dan., etc.; extension to "female of any bird species" is early 14c. in English. Hen as slang for "woman" dates from 1620s; hence hen party "gathering of women," first recorded 1887. Henpecked is from 1680.
"The henpect Man rides behind his Wife, and lets her wear the Spurs and govern the Reins." [Samuel Butler]
- Tartar
- c.1369 (implied in Tartary, "the land of the Tartars"), from M.L. Tartarus, from Pers. Tatar, first used 13c. in reference to the hordes of Ghengis Khan (1202-1227), said ult. to be from Tata, a name of the Mongols for themselves. Form in European languages probably influenced by L. Tartarus "hell" [e.g. letter of St. Louis of France, 1270: "In the present danger of the Tartars either we shall push them back into the Tartarus whence they are come, or they will bring us all into heaven"]. The historical word for what now are called in ethnological works Tatars. A Turkic people, their native region was east of the Caspian Sea. Ghengis' horde was a mix of Tatars. Mongols, Turks, etc. Used figuratively for "savage, rough, irascible person" (1663); Byron's tartarly (1821) is a nonce-word. To catch a Tartar "get hold of what cannot be controlled" is recorded from 1663; original sense not preserved, but probably from some military story similar to the old battlefield joke:
Irish soldier (shouting from within the brush): I've captured one of the enemy.
Tartar sauce is first recorded 1855, from Fr. sauce tartare.
Captain: Excellent! Bring him here.
Soldier: He won't come.
Captain: Well, then, you come here.
Soldier: I would, but he won't let me.