Tegin

Tegin (Old Turkic: 𐱅𐰃𐰏𐰤, romanized: tegin, also tigin, MC *dək-gɨn > Pinyin: Tèqín; Chinese: 特勤, erroneously Tèlè 特勒) is a Turkic title, commonly attachable to the names of the junior members of the Khagan's family. However, Ligeti cast doubts on the Turkic provenance by pointing to the non-Turkic plural form tegit. According to Mahmud al-Kashgari, tegin means 'servant, slave' (kul, köle).