Etymology

From a Turkic language, compare Old Uighur [script needed] ‎(burxan, “Buddha”), Karakhanid [script needed] ‎(burxan, “idol”). The Turkic word is derived from Middle Chinese 佛 (MC bɨut̚, “Buddha”) and Old Turkic 𐰴𐰣 ‎(qan, “ruler, king”) and chosen to represent Buddha corresponding properly to Sanskrit बुद्धराजा ‎(buddharājā, “Buddha-king”) in the earliest Turkic translations of Buddhist scriptures.