janissary
/ˈdʒænɪsɛri/
noun
Origin
Ottoman Turkish
yeñi çeri — new soldier
Overview
Meaning Now
- A member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and bodyguards.
Literal older meaning
new soldier
Language path
Old Ottoman Turkish → Ottoman Turkish → English
Earliest form
yeñi çeri
Earliest period
14th century
Journey
The Janissary corps was founded under Sultan Murad I around 1363. Initially composed of Christian boys taken via the devshirme system, they were converted to Islam and trained as a highly disciplined, loyal professional force. They were eventually abolished in 1826 during the 'Auspicious Incident'.
Evolution
- 14th century Ottoman Turkish
yeñi çeri
“new soldier”
Compound of yeñi (new) and çeri (soldier/troop).
- 17th century Italian
giannizzero
“member of the Ottoman elite guard”
Italian adaptation of the Ottoman term.
- 17th century English
janissary
“Ottoman elite infantryman”
Adopted into English, influenced by French janissaire.
Connections
Word parts
yeñi
root
new
çeri
root
soldier
Related across languages
French
janissaire
janissary
German
Janitschar
janissary
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Related to janissary
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.