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dey

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dey

  [dey]
Use dey in a Sentence
–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:
1650–60; < F < Turk dayι orig., maternal uncle
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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dey   (dā)   
n.  

  1. Used formerly as the title of the governor of Algiers before the French conquest in 1830.

  2. Used formerly as the title for rulers of the states of Tunis and Tripoli.


[French, from Turkish day, maternal uncle.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

dey  (1)
O.E. dæge "female servant, housekeeper, maid," from P.Gmc. *daigjon, from PIE *dheigh-. Now obsolete (though O.E.D. says, "Still in living use in parts of Scotland"), it forms the first element of dairy and the second of lady. The ground sense seems to be "kneader, maker of bread;" advancing by O.N. deigja and M.E. daie to mean "female servant, woman employed in a house or on a farm." Dæge as "servant" is the second element in many surnames ending in -day (e.g. Faraday, and perhaps Doubleday "servant of the Twin," etc.).

dey  (2)
1659, "title of a military commander in Muslim north Africa," from Turk. dai "maternal uncle," a friendly title used of older men, especially by the Janissaries of Algiers of their commanding officers. There were also deys in Tunis and Tripoli.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

dey

in the Ottoman provinces of Algiers and Tunis, an honorary title conferred upon exceptionally able corsair leaders; also, a lower rank of officer in the Janissaries. In late 16th-century Tunis, a dey commanded the army and eventually was in sole control of the state, but by 1705 the title had disappeared from official lists. The head of the Algerian regency, elected by fellow Janissary officers (from 1689), was titled dey, and, though his family life was restricted to prevent succession claims and he was confined to Algiers, he had virtually absolute power; 30 such deys ruled Algiers in succession between 1671 and 1830

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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