Turkish

American  

[tur-kish] / ˈtɜr kɪʃ /

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or derived from Turkey or the Turks.

2. of or relating to the language of Turkey.

3. (loosely) Turkic.

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noun

1. the Turkic language of Turkey. Turk, Turk.

2. (loosely) Turkic.

Turkish British  

/ ˈtɜːkɪʃ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Turkey, its people, or their language

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noun

1. the official language of Turkey, belonging to the Turkic branch of the Altaic family See also Osmanli

Other Word Forms

• Turkishness noun
• anti-Turkish adjective
• non-Turkish adjective
• pro-Turkish adjective
• pseudo-Turkish adjective

Etymology

Origin of Turkish

First recorded in 1535–45; Turk + -ish ¹

Example Sentences

In addition, most participants were adults of Turkish ethnicity, so the findings may not fully apply to other populations.

From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026

After Pakistan's foreign minister quickly flew to Beijing last month following de-escalation discussions with Saudi, Turkish and Egyptian counterparts, China said it backed Pakistan's efforts to mediate.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

Bolton described his partner as especially scared and outlined how their attempts to get help from the Turkish consulate and the Isle of Man government brought no resolution.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

It’s astonishing that Mr. Ozon is the first to make a French film of the novella, which previously yielded only two feature versions, one Italian and the other Turkish.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

There were islands in the middle of the water, little floating restaurants where grown-ups could order Turkish coffee while their legs were still in the pool.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri