spahi

English

Etymology

From French spahi, from Ottoman Turkish سپاهی (sipahi), from Persian سپاهی (sepâhi, “horseman, soldier”) (> English sepoy), from سپاه (sepâh, “army”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspɑːhiː/

Noun

spahi (plural spahis)

1. (historical) An Ottoman (Turkish empire) cavalryman, especially as recruited under a land-based system.
   • 2001, Orhan Pamuk, My Name Is Red, tr. Erdağ M Göknar

     I hear that the great Sadiki Bey illustrated a copy of Strange Creatures, commissioned by an Uzbek spahi cavalryman, for only forty gold pieces.

2. (historical) A soldier in a mainly Arab-recruited cavalry (originally horse, later light armored) regiment in French colonial service in (former/ in name still) Ottoman North African provinces

Related terms

• sepoy

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked‌: "Ottoman cavalryman"

• Dutch: spahi m
• French: spahi (fr) m

• Macedonian: спахија m (spáhija)

Anagrams

• Saiph, aphis, apish, pahis

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Dutch

Etymology

From French spahi, from Ottoman Turkish سپاهی (sipahi), from Persian سپاهی (sepâhi, “horseman, soldier”) (> English sepoy), from سپاه (sepâh, “army”).

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: spa‧hi

Noun

spahi m (plural spahi's, diminutive spahietje n)

1. A spahi

Related terms

• sepoy m

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French

Etymology

From Turkish sipahi, from Persian سپاهی (sipāhī, “horseman, soldier”), from سپاه (sipāh, “army”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spai/

Noun

spahi m (plural spahis)

1. A spahi

Related terms

• cipaye m

Further reading

• “spahi” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).