Turki

Turki, strictly speaking, is an Arabic or Persian adjective formed from the noun "Turk", used by European writers in two rather different senses. Firstly, it is applied to tribes or languages which are Turkic as opposed to being Iranian or Semitic. Secondly, it is used as the special designation of the tribes and languages of Eastern Turkestan.

More broadly speaking, "Turki" as a word is in common usage for variety of things related to Turks and in a widespread area. It could be used for the language spoken by Turks, could imply culture of Turks, Turkic descent and even dynasties. Its usage is also widespread from South Asia (Turki in Urdu language is exactly the same as Turki in Persian) to Central Asia to Turkey. Lastly, the Turks being referred in the context of Turki are not necessarliy from Turkey.

In Kashmir, people originally hailing from village Turkipora of Baramulla district have Turki as their surname.

In addition, "Turki" was used as an adjective by Bedouins in the Najd region of Saudi Arabia meaning "handsome", as the Turks (From Central Asia) (commonly designated as "Turks" in medieval Persian and Arabic sources) were considered handsome. Thus, they named their kids "Turki" because they look handsome as children. Turki is a popular name now in the Gulf States, especially Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.^{[citation needed]}

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.