Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A member of a group of elite, highly loyal supporters.
- n. A soldier in an elite Turkish guard organized in the 14th century and abolished in 1826.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Obsolete forms of janizary.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. See janizary.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a loyal supporter
- n. a Turkish soldier
Etymologies
- French janissaire, from Old French jehanicere, from Old Italian giannizero, from Ottoman Turkish yanī cheri, new army : yanī, new + cheri, special troops (from Middle Persian chērīh, bravery, victory, from chēr, brave, victorious).
Examples
“Dynamo manages to get out of his jam, but the additional complications of a janissary of unknown morality who wants to kiss and/or kill him makes his life even more unusual.”
Hero History: Dynamo | Major Spoilers - Comic Book Reviews and News
“I have fished you out of the water, I have brought you to life again, you belong to me as the creature belongs to the creator, as the efrits of fairytales belong to the genii, as the janissary to the Sultan, as the soul to the body.”
“It is some time ago since the wealthy Mahomet demanded in marriage the daughter of the janissary”
“Loved Alejandro's work on the janissary outfits he and Achbar wore.”
“The poor consul got a lamp for us with a bit of wax-candle, such as I wonder his means could afford; the shabby janissary marched ahead with his tin mace; the two laquais-de-place, that two of our company had hired, stepped forward, each with an old sabre, and we went clattering and stumbling down the streets of the town, in order to seize upon this cadi in his own divan.”
“Then by his favour, for you improved the occasion, you were allowed to spend the hours of darkness on a wooden bench, in the adjacent long gallery, together with certain little parasites, for which polite language has no name. 10 In the morning the janissary of your”
“Kaliuns26 (Persian hookahs) and coffee by the servants, who made royal conges whenever they passed the great man; and more than once the janissary, in dignity of belt and crooked sabre, entered the court to quicken our awe.”
“Formerly, when a janissary was condemned to die, he was confined in this castle.”
Journal of a Visit to Constantinople and Some of the Greek Islands in the Spring and Summer of 1833
“_ -- This morning we took Mustapha, once the consul's janissary, and now his servant, as a guide to the curiosities on the other side of the water.”
Journal of a Visit to Constantinople and Some of the Greek Islands in the Spring and Summer of 1833
“One was dragoman, a post of which the occupation entitled him to the consideration of a gentleman; the other was merely henchman or janissary, of which dignity the allocation is in the kitchen.”
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 380, June, 1847
Lists
‘janissary’ hasn't been added to any lists yet.
pterodactyl And then once all twelve gangs have come and gone, you could have an Anniverssary! Apr 22, 2008
sionnach Why stop with janissaries? You could have gangs of supporters for every month of the year. Junissaries. Julissaries. You get the picture. Apr 22, 2008
chained_bear Alternate spelling: janizary. Usage and some interesting stuff on the page for devshurmeh. Signed, Too Lazy to Copy/Paste. Feb 19, 2008