janissary
/-səɹi/ · noun
Meaning
- An infantry soldier, often of Christian descent and forcibly converted to Islam, in a former elite Turkish (Ottoman) guard (disbanded in 1826); by extension, any Turkish soldier, particularly one escorting a traveller.
- An elite, highly loyal supporter.
Etymology / origin
No prose etymology has been added yet.
No ancestor words have been linked yet.
Related words
Descendant words
No descendant words have been linked yet.