Ot·to·man / ˈätəmən/ • adj. hist. 1. of or relating to the Turkish dynasty of Osman I (Othman I). ∎  of or relating to the branch of the Turks to which he belonged. ∎  of or relating to the Ottoman Empire ruled by his successors.2. Turkish.• n. (pl. -mans) a Turk, esp. of the period of the Ottoman Empire.

Ottoman of or relating to the Turkish dynasty of Osman (Othman) I (1259–1326), Turkish conqueror. He reigned as sultan of the Seljuk Turks from 1288, conquering NW Asia Minor.

The Ottoman Empire was the Turkish empire, established in northern Anatolia by Osman I at the end of the 13th century and expanded by his successors to include all of Asia Minor and much of SE Europe. After setbacks caused by the invasion of the Mongol ruler Tamerlane in 1402, Constantinople was captured in 1453 and the empire reached its zenith under Suleiman in the mid 16th century. It had greatly declined by the 19th century and collapsed after the First World War; in its declining years it was nicknamed the Sick Man of Europe.

ot·to·man / ˈätəmən/ • n. (pl. -mans) 1. a low upholstered seat, or footstool, without a back or arms that typically serves also as a box, with the seat hinged to form a lid.2. a heavy ribbed fabric usu. made from silk, cotton or wool.

Ottoman pert. to the Turkish dynasty founded c. 1300 by Othman (Osman); Turkish, Turk. XVII. — F. Ottoman, It. Ottomano, medL. Ottomānus, f. Arab. ‘utmān Othman; Osman, the Turk. pronunc. of Othman + Turk. adj. suffix -li gives Osmanli (XIX).

ottoman cushioned seat of the sofa type. XIX. — F. ottomane (XVIII), fem. of ottoman, adj. of next.