Standard Lemma guide

kaftan

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK, US: /ˈkæf.tæn/
  • /ˈkæf.tən/ where?
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A long dress or shirt similar in style to those worn in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a (cotton or silk) cloak with full sleeves and sash reaching down to the ankles; worn by men in the Levant

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: caftan

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cloak

4

noun

Meaning 4

a woman's dress style that imitates the caftan cloaks worn by men in the Near East

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: caftan

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: dress, frock

History

Etymology

Via Russian кафта́н (kaftán), from Ottoman Turkish قفتان (kaftan), from Classical Persian خَفْتَان (xaftān), which occurs already in the Shahnameh.

Across languages

Translations

66 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: kaftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Southern Altai: ӧрмӧк (örmök) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Arabic: قَفْطَان (qafṭān) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Armenian: խաֆթան (xaftʻan) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Armenian: կաֆտան (kaftan) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Azerbaijani: kaftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Belarusian: кафта́н (kaftán) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Bulgarian: кафта́н (kaftán) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Catalan: caftà — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Chinese Mandarin: 卡夫坦 (kǎfūtǎn) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Czech: kaftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Dutch: kaftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Esperanto: kaftano — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Finnish: kaftaani — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Finnish: kauhtana — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • French: caftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • French: cafetan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Georgian: ქაფტანი (kapṭani) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • German: Kaftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Greek: καφτάνι (kaftáni) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Hungarian: kaftán — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Indonesian: kaftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Italian: caffettano — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Japanese: カフタン (kafutan) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Kalmyk: кавтан (kavtan) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Kazakh: шекпен (şekpen) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Korean: 카프탄 (kapeutan) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Northern Kurdish: xiftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Kyrgyz: кафтан (kaftan) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Kyrgyz: узун чапан (uzun capan) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Macedonian: кафтан (kaftan) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Iranian Persian: خَفْتان (xaftân) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Iranian Persian: خِفْتان (xeftân) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Polish: kaftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Portuguese: caftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Portuguese: kaftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Portuguese: cafetão — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Romanian: caftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Russian: кафта́н (kaftán) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Serbo-Croatian: ка̀фтан — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Serbo-Croatian: kàftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Slovak: kaftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Slovene: kaftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Spanish: caftán — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Swedish: kaftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Tajik: кафтан (kaftan) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Tajik: хафтон (xafton) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Turkish: kaftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Ottoman Turkish: قفتان (kaftan) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Ukrainian: капта́н (kaptán) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Ukrainian: кафта́н (kaftán) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Welsh: cafftan — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Yakut: хаптаан (qaptaan) — long tunic worn in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Finnish: kaftaani — similar long tunic
  • Finnish: kauhtana — similar long tunic
  • French: caftan — similar long tunic
  • Hungarian: kaftán — similar long tunic
  • Ingrian: kaftana — similar long tunic
  • Kalmyk: кавтан (kavtan) — similar long tunic
  • Kyrgyz: кафтан (kaftan) — similar long tunic
  • Kyrgyz: узун чапан (uzun capan) — similar long tunic
  • Macedonian: кафтан (kaftan) — similar long tunic
  • Russian: кафта́н (kaftán) — similar long tunic
  • Spanish: caftán — similar long tunic
  • Welsh: cafftan — similar long tunic
  • Yakut: хаптаан (qaptaan) — similar long tunic