16th-century depiction of Otomano P[rim]o (Osman I) by Paolo Veronese Etymology tree Arabic عُثْمَان (ʕuṯmān)bor. Italian Ottomanobor. Middle French Ottomanbor. English Ottoman Borrowed from Middle French Ottoman (“Osman”), borrowed from Italian Ottomano, borrowed from Arabic عُثْمَان (ʕuṯmān). Doublet of Osman and Uthman.