Istanbul

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Istanbul

/ɪ.stænˈbʊl/ UK
[ˌɪ.stæmˈbʊɫ] UK
/ˈɪ.stɑːn.bʊl/ US
[ˈɪ.stɑːmˌbʊɫ] US
/ɪsˈtɑːn.bʊl/ South Asia
[ɪsˈt̪äːm.bʊl] South Asia

Where it comes from

From Turkish İstanbul, from Ottoman Turkish استانبول (İstanbul), a corruption of Medieval Greek εἰς τὴν Πόλιν (eis tḕn Pólin, “to the City”), which is how Constantinople was referred to by the local Greeks.

proper noun İstanbul · Stambul · Stamboul

A Turkish city, and the largest European city by population, which was the last capital of the Ottoman Empire and the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire). Nearly a century ago, my grandfather passed through Istanbul en route to Europe along with hordes of other White Russians fleeing the Russian civil war.
A province in Turkey.
Similar: Byzantium, Byzantion, Constantinople

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: constantinople, stamboul, stambul, turkish, ankara, turkey, byzantium, byzantion, miklagard, istambul, tsargrad, izmir, adrianople, erzurum, metropolis, i̇zmir

Translations

Every language

name largest city of Turkey and last capital of the Ottoman Empire

Español	Estambul
한국어	이스탄불 Iseutanbul
日本語	イスタンブール Isutanbūru
हिन्दी	इस्तांबुल istāmbul
Português	Istambul
Français	Istanbul
Deutsch	Istanbul
Italiano	Istambul, Istanbul, Stambul
Ελληνικά	Κωνσταντινούπολη Konstantinoúpoli, Πόλη Póli
Română	Istanbul, Stambul, Țarigrad
Русский	Стамбу́л Stambúl, Царьгра́д Carʹgrád, Константино́поль Konstantinópolʹ
Tiếng Việt	Tân La Mã
العربية	إِسْطَنْبُول ʔisṭanbūl, إِسْتَنْبُول ʔistanbūl, إستانبول
עברית	אִיסְטַנְבּוּל istanbul

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MLA

"Istanbul." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/istanbul. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Istanbul. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/istanbul

Chicago

"Istanbul." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/istanbul.

BibTeX

@misc{istanbul_2026,
  title = {Istanbul},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/istanbul},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}