Timur Lenk

1 9.8

A Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire across Central Asia in the 14th century

proper noun

: Timur Lenk

Timur Lenk built a vast empire stretching from the Middle East to India during the 14th century.

Examples

Timur Lenk is often remembered for both his conquests and his patronage of the arts in Samarkand.
Timur Lenk is known for his brutal military campaigns that extended his influence from Turkey to Mongolia.
Many historians study the military strategies of Timur Lenk and their influence on later rulers.
The great conqueror Timur Lenk established a vast empire.
Did Timur Lenk really conquer territories as far as India?
Timur Lenk founded the Timurid Empire, which became one of the most powerful states in Central Asia during the 14th century.
The legacy of Timur Lenk includes not only his conquests but also the flourishing of culture in cities like Samarkand.

Synonyms

Tamerlane

vsTimur Lenk

1 9.9

A Central Asian ruler known for creating a large empire from Turkey to Mongolia

has identical meaning but uses an alternative name spelling

Surface Forms

Timur Lenk main

Morphology

Timur + Lenk

Both elements are proper names (no dictionary senses provided), so their combination does not compositionally signal the biographical meaning 'Mongol conqueror'. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words as names would not be able to infer historical or occupational information from them, and proper names are generally arbitrary across languages, making this expression opaque.

Etymology

Timur Lenk may come from old Turkic and Persian words. The name Timur means 'iron' and Lenk means 'the lame', so picture a strong, 'iron' leader who walked with a limp and still built a large empire.