dey

[ dey ]

noun
  1. the title of the governor of Algiers before the French conquest in 1830.

  2. a title sometimes used by the former rulers of Tunis and Tripoli.

Origin of dey

1
1650–60; <French <Turkish dayι originally, maternal uncle

Words Nearby dey

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dey in a sentence

  • Perhaps he holds up a manila folder and declares “I is all done wit me quahtahly repahts boss, and dey is IRIE!”

  • Yis, all alone, sept de two tousand Caffres ob de kraal; but dey is nobody—only black beasts.

    Hunting the Lions | R.M. Ballantyne
  • She's done got a pow'ful quick tempah, my Miss Betty has, same's all my Somerset family had, bein' fust quality folks lak dey was.

    Dorothy at Skyrie | Evelyn Raymond
  • dey's squar little towels what you holds in yer lap to wipe yer fingers on when you've done eatin'.

    The Cromptons | Mary J. Holmes
  • She couldn't larn, an' de Lord took her whar dey don't ask what you knows,—only dis: does you lub de Lord?

    The Cromptons | Mary J. Holmes

British Dictionary definitions for dey

dey

/ (deɪ) /


noun
  1. the title given to commanders or (from 1710) governors of the Janissaries of Algiers (1671–1830)

  2. a title applied by Western writers to various other Ottoman governors, such as the bey of Tunis

Origin of dey

1
C17: from French, from Turkish dayi, literally: maternal uncle, hence title given to an older person

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012