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definitions

Ankara

[ang-ker-uh, ahng-]
noun
  1. a city in and the capital of Turkey, in the central part.
Also called Angora.Ancient An·cy·ra.

Turkey

[tur-kee]
noun
  1. a republic in W Asia and SE Europe. 296,184 sq. mi. (767,120 sq. km): 286,928 sq. mi. (743,145 sq. km) in Asia; 9257 sq. mi. (23,975 sq. km) in Europe. Capital: Ankara.
Compare Ottoman Empire.
Related formspro-Tur·key, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ankara

Contemporary Examples of ankara

Historical Examples of ankara

  • Damascus sighed but smiled, and reopened diplomatic relations with Ankara that had been severed for more than twenty years.

    The Golden Judge

    Nathaniel Gordon

  • An example may be also taken from the following sign for lie, falsehood, made by an Ankara, Fig. 233.

  • He intended to do this tomorrow, somewhere between the oasis and Ankara, but the Pasha's son had presented an awkward problem.

    Hi Jolly!

    James Arthur Kjelgaard

  • The caravan for which Ali was handling camels came to an oasis one day out of Ankara and found another caravan already encamped.

    Hi Jolly!

    James Arthur Kjelgaard

  • But he felt that he could make it from here to Ankara without difficulty and he'd had more than his fill of the Pasha's son.

    Hi Jolly!

    James Arthur Kjelgaard

British Dictionary definitions for ankara

Ankara

noun
  1. the capital of Turkey: an ancient city in the Anatolian highlands: first a capital in the 3rd century bc, in the Celtic kingdom of Galatia. Pop: 3 593 000 (2005 est)Ancient name: Ancyra Former name (until 1930): Angora

turkey

noun plural -keys or -key
  1. a large gallinaceous bird, Meleagris gallopavo, of North America, having a bare wattled head and neck and a brownish iridescent plumage. The male is brighter and has a fan-shaped tail. A domestic variety is widely bred for its flesh
  2. the flesh of the turkey used as food
  3. a similar and related bird, Agriocharis ocellata (ocellated turkey), of Central and N South America
  4. any of various Australian birds considered to resemble the turkey, such as the bush turkey
  5. slang, mainly US and Canadian
    1. a dramatic production that fails; flop
    2. a thing or person that fails; dud
  6. slang, mainly US and Canadian a stupid, incompetent, or unappealing person
  7. slang (in tenpin bowling) three strikes in a row
  8. See cold turkey
  9. talk turkey informal, mainly US and Canadian to discuss frankly and practically

Word Origin for turkey

C16: shortened from Turkey cock (hen), used at first to designate the African guinea fowl (apparently because the bird was brought through Turkish territory), later applied by mistake to the American bird

Turkey

noun
  1. a republic in W Asia and SE Europe, between the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Aegean: the centre of the Ottoman Empire; became a republic in 1923. The major Asian part, consisting mainly of an arid plateau, is separated from European Turkey by the Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, and Dardanelles. Official languages: Turkish; Kurdish and Arabic minority languages. Religion: Muslim majority. Currency: lira. Capital: Ankara. Pop: 80 694 485 (2013 est). Area: 780 576 sq km (301 380 sq miles)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for ankara

turkey

n.

1540s, "guinea fowl" (Numida meleagris), imported from Madagascar via Turkey, by Near East traders known as turkey merchants. The larger North American bird (Meleagris gallopavo) was domesticated by the Aztecs, introduced to Spain by conquistadors (1523) and thence to wider Europe, by way of North Africa (then under Ottoman rule) and Turkey (Indian corn was originally turkey corn or turkey wheat in English for the same reason).

The word turkey was first applied to it in English 1550s because it was identified with or treated as a species of the guinea fowl. The Turkish name for it is hindi, literally "Indian," probably via Middle French dinde (c.1600, contracted from poulet d'inde, literally "chicken from India," Modern French dindon), based on the common misconception that the New World was eastern Asia.

The New World bird itself reputedly reached England by 1524 at the earliest estimate, though a date in the 1530s seems more likely. By 1575, turkey was becoming the usual main course at an English Christmas. Meaning "inferior show, failure," is 1927 in show business slang, probably from the bird's reputation for stupidity. Meaning "stupid, ineffectual person" is recorded from 1951. Turkey shoot "something easy" is World War II-era, in reference to marksmanship contests where turkeys were tied behind a log with their heads showing as targets.

Turkey

country name, late 14c., from Medieval Latin Turchia, from Turcus (see Turk) + -ia.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
ankara in Culture

Ankara

[(ang-kuhr-uh)]

Capital of Turkey, located in west-central Turkey; the country's administrative, commercial, and cultural center.

Note

Formerly known as Angora; home of Angora goats, famous for their fine wool.

Turkey

Republic straddling southeastern Europe and the Middle East, bordered by the Black Sea to the north, Georgia and Armenia to the northeast, Iran to the east, Iraq and Syria to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea and the Aegean Sea to the southwest, and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. Ninety-seven percent of the country is in Asia. Ankara is its capital, but Istanbul is its largest city and former imperial capital.

Note

The Ottoman Empire emerged in Anatolia (the western portion of Asian Turkey) during the thirteenth century and survived until 1918. At its height, during the sixteenth century, the empire stretched from the Persian Gulf to western Algeria and included all of southeastern Europe.

Note

The declining Ottoman Empire allied with Germany, Austria, and Bulgaria in World War I and suffered disintegration and Greek occupation at the end of the war.

Note

After the rise of a nationalist movement led by Kemal Ataturk, the Republic of Turkey was established in 1923.

Note

In 1871, the archaeologist and scholar Heinrich Schliemann discovered the site of ancient Troy on the west coast of Asian Turkey.

Note

The country's relations with Greece have been characterized by tension and conflict for centuries.

Note

Turkey has been a member of NATO since 1952.

Note

Parts of the country were devastated by an earthquake in 2000.

Note

Turkey has long resisted separatist demands from militant Kurds in the eastern part of the country.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with ankara

turkey

see cold turkey; talk turkey.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.