1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

khedive

noun

khe·​dive kə-ˈdēv How to pronounce khedive (audio)
Synonyms of khedivenext
: a ruler of Egypt from 1867 to 1914 governing as a viceroy of the sultan of Turkey
khedivial
kə-ˈdē-vē-əl How to pronounce khedive (audio)
adjective
or khedival
kə-ˈdē-vəl How to pronounce khedive (audio)

Word History

Etymology

French khédive, from Turkish hidiv

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of khedive was in 1847

Rhymes for khedive

See All Rhymes for khedive

Browse Nearby Words

Khazar
khedive
khedivial
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Khedive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/khedive. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

khedive

noun
khe·​dive kə-ˈdēv How to pronounce khedive (audio)
: a governor of Egypt from 1867 to 1914

More from Merriam-Webster on khedive

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for khedive

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about khedive

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of nemesis

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All