aynasız
Turkish
Etymology
From ayna (“mirror”) + -sız (“-less”).
The slang sense is of uncertain origin. A popular etymology claims the origin of the ‘police’ sense comes from the fact that Turkish police in the 1970s used cars of the model Renault 12 TS which lacked one side mirror, hence ‘mirrorless’ came to mean ‘police’. However, the sense dates back to at least the 1930s, so this cannot be correct.[1]
An older slang meaning ‘formless, ugly’ dates back to at least 1889 and corresponds to the antonym aynalı (“handsome, beautiful”), from ayna (“mirror”) + -lı (“-full”).[2]
Pronunciation
Noun
aynasız (definite accusative aynasızı, plural aynasızlar)
- (slang) police, a policeman or policewoman
Usage notes
- This term is gender-neutral.
Declension
Synonyms
Descendants
- → Swedish: aina