dey

Forms

dey m (plural deys)^[1] Early spelling day (1628), with dey recorded again by Boulan in 1693.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ottoman Turkish دایی (dāi, “maternal uncle”), a word that became an honorary title of the governors of Tunis and Algiers.^[4][5][6] According to Rey, the Ottomans seem first to have given the title to sailors who had distinguished themselves fighting in the Mediterranean, and it then named an officer of the Janissary militia of Tunis and Algiers.^[7] Wiktionary has the French word pass through Algerian Arabic.^[1]

The dates of the first record differ: the TLFi and the Grand Robert give 1613, Rey 1616, and Bloch and Wartburg 1628, the date of the spelling ⟨day⟩.^[4][3][7][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1613, in the correspondence of the beys of Tunis and the French consuls, as the title of a ruler: le dict seigneur Issouf Dey “the said lord Yusuf Dey”.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In Tunis a revolt of the militia in 1590 brought one of its deys to the head of the province, and the deys governed there until 1659; the office survived later in a lesser rank, the beys ruling Tunisia from 1705.^[7] In Algiers the dey was the head of the regency's government until 1830,^[7][4] and the deys of Algiers ruled from 1671.^[8] Since the French conquest the word is a historical term.^[4]

Timeline

• 1613 – First record, in the correspondence of the beys of Tunis with the French consuls.^[4][3]
• 1628 – The spelling day appears, in Brèves.^[2][6]
• 1693 – Boulan writes dey.^[2]
• 1830 – The regency of Algiers, and with it the rule of its deys, comes to an end.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (history) The title of an officer of the Janissaries in the Barbary regencies.^[2][7]
2. (history) The head of the government of Algiers before the French conquest of 1830.^[4][8][9]

Related words

• bey

Usage notes

The Robert dictionaries give the pronunciation /dɛ/, which makes the word a homophone of dais and dès;^[8][3] Wiktionary has /dɛj/.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 19, 38b
6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette