GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Dey , n. [See Dairy.] A servant who has charge of the dairy; a dairymaid. [Obs.]
   Chaucer.
   
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2.       
   Dey , n.; pl. Deys . [Turk. dāi, 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.] The governor of Algiers; -- so called before the French conquest in 1830.
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