Meaning & use
khanate
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Meanings
nouncountable
A region or state governed by a khan, a title for a ruler among Mongol and Turkic peoples.
Grammar: Countable and often capitalized in names: the Khanate of Crimea; the khanates of Central Asia.
Patterns
- the khanate of something
The Crimean khanate lasted for several centuries before it was absorbed into a larger empire.
After the great ruler died, his empire split into several khanates.
Traders crossing Central Asia needed permission from each khanate along the route.
noununcountablerare
The rank, office or rule of a khan.
Grammar: Rarer sense, no plural: he inherited the khanate from his father.
Patterns
- inherit the khanate
- claim the khanate
The two brothers fought over who would take the khanate.
His khanate was short, ending when rivals forced him out.
She wrote a thesis about how the khanate passed from one generation to the next.
Word forms
| plural | khanates |
|---|
Common combinations
- the Golden Horde khanate
- Historians study how the Golden Horde khanate taxed its subjects.
- a Mongol khanate
- A Mongol khanate once ruled the plains north of the Black Sea.
- divide into khanates
- The empire eventually divided into khanates.
- rule a khanate
- He ruled the khanate for nearly twenty years.
- conquer a khanate
- Russian forces conquered the khanate in the sixteenth century.
Synonyms and how they differ
- kingdom
- Kingdom is the general word for a realm under a king, while khanate points to a Mongol or Turkic ruler specifically.
- empire
- An empire is usually much larger and holds many peoples, whereas a khanate may be one regional state within a bigger empire.
- domain
- Domain is a loose word for any area of control, and it does not name the type of ruler the way khanate does.
Word family
- khan noun
- the ruler whose title forms the base of the word
- khanship noun
- the position or term of a khan
- Genghis Khan proper noun
- the founder of the Mongol Empire, whose title gave rise to many khanates
Commonly confused: khanate or caliphate?
khanate vs caliphate
A caliphate is a state under an Islamic caliph, a religious and political leader; a khanate is led by a khan, a Mongol or Turkic ruler.
Practice
After the Mongol ruler died, his lands broke up into several separate ___.
Choose one answer.
Khanates are states led by khans, which fits the Mongol setting. A caliphate is under a caliph, and parishes and dioceses are church districts.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “khanate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.