dey Meaning, Definition & Usage

Dey noun

Etymology

See Dairy.

Definitions

1. A servant who has charge of the dairy; a dairymaid. Obs. Chaucer.

Dey noun

Etymology

Turk. dai, orig., a maternal uncle, then a friendly title formerly given to middle-aged or old people, especially among the Janizaries; and hence, in Algiers, consecrated at length to the commanding officer of that corps, who frequently became afterward pasha or regent of that province; hence the European misnomer of dey, as applied to the latter: cf. F. dey.

Wordforms

plural Deys

Definitions

1. The governor of Algiers; -- so called before the French conquest in 1830.