OTTOMAN....What do we mean?

[kahnjar1]

I notice that lately a lot of items are being described as "Ottoman" in origin. I am/was of the understanding that the term Ottoman was a period in history rather than a location.
To me it is like describing (for example) an African sword/club/knife as British just because the Brits once were "in charge" of a given area of the world......so what do we ACTUALLY mean when we describe something as Ottoman? To me it would mean a Turkish item from the Ottoman period, but I do not think that IS the origin of many of the pieces described this way.
Stu