English Explanatory Dictionary

devshirme

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Systematic collection of non-Muslim boys or young men from rural Christian populations of the Balkans, practiced by Ottomans; the boys were taken to Istanbul, converted to Islam and educated for military profession or religious disciplines.

Word forms

devshirme devshirmeh

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish دیوشیرمه (devşirme, literally “collection, gathering”) (Turkish devşirme).

Related words

blood tax iç oğlan janissary
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