Köy is the word for "village" in Western Oghuz languages that are geographically western, such as Turkish,

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...

and Crimean Tatar. It is a loanword from Persian ''gūy'' (or probably more likely ''kūy''), which originally means "path, street". In Ottoman toponymic history a multitude of settlements with köy are attested, such as Boghaz Köy or Ermeni Köy. Toponyms with the word köy apparently came into use only after the end of the Seljuk period (1037–1194). For example, the word is not found in the ''

Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk The ' ( ar, ديوان لغات الترك, lit=Compendium of the languages of the Turks) is the first comprehensive dictionary of Turkic languages, compiled in 1072–74 by the Turkic scholar Mahmud Kashgari who extensively studied the Turkic ...

'' of

Mahmud al-Kashgari Mahmud ibn Husayn ibn Muhammed al-Kashgari, ''Maḥmūd ibnu 'l-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad al-Kāšġarī'', , tr, Kaşgarlı Mahmûd, ug, مەھمۇد قەشقىرى, ''Mehmud Qeshqiri'' / Мәһмуд Қәшқири uz, Mahmud Qashg'ariy / М ...

(died 1102). The meaning of köy within the concept of an open village contrasts with that of the word ''kasaba'', which refers to a small town. In Western Oghuz languages located to the east, such as the dialect used by

Iraqi Turkmens The Iraqi Turkmens (also spelled as Turkoman and Turcoman; tr, Irak Türkmenleri), also referred to as Iraqi Turks, Turkish-Iraqis, the Turkish minority in Iraq, and the Iraqi-Turkish minority ( ar, تركمان العراق; tr, Irak Türkleri ...

, the word "kend" (a Sogdian loanword) is used at all times when denoting a village rather than köy; however, the

Islamologist Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...

and Ottomanist Johannes Hendrik Kramers adds that "sometimes this last word seems to have been replaced by köy". For instance, the settlement of Ḳāḍī Kend near

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...

changes into Ḳāḍī Köy.

References

Turkic words and phrases Ottoman Turkish language Crimean Tatar language Toponymy Turkish language {{Turkey-stub