Origin: 1555–65; earlier gower, gour < Turk gâvur < Pers gaur, var. of gabr Zoroastrian, non-Muslim; sp. giaour < F, with gi- repr. Turk palatalized g, later taken as sp. for j
[Alteration of obsolete gower, gour, from Turkish gâvur, from Persian gabr, infidel, Zoroastrian, from Arabic kāfir, infidel, from kafr, village, from Aramaic kaprā; see kpr2 in Semitic roots.]
1564, Turk. term of contempt for non-Muslims, from Pers. gaur, variant of gabr "fire-worshipper," originally applied to the adherents of the Zoroastrian religion.