Link Centre Dictionary

janissary

ja·nis·sary

UK/ˈdʒanɪzəɹi/ US/ˈja-/ uncommon

noun

1.

a loyal supporter

  • “every politician has a following of janissaries”
2.

Origin

] From Italian giannizzaro, possibly via Middle French ianissaire or Spanish jenízaro, from Ottoman Turkish یڭیچری (yeñiçeri) (whence Modern Turkish yeniçeri), from یڭی (yeñi, “new”) + چری (çeri, “soldier”). Compare Dutch janitsaar, German Janitschar. The word is attested from the early 16th century in English; the janissaries themselves date from the 14th century.

Phrases

  • janissary music
  • Janissary pedal
  • Janissary stop

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.