bashi-bazouk

[bash-ee-buh-zook]

noun

1. (formerly) one of a class of irregular mounted troops in the Turkish military service.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bashi-bazouk¹

First recorded in 1850–55, bashi-bazouk is from the Turkish word başι-bozuk civilian, irregular, originally, leaderless, not attached (to a regular military unit), literally, (one) whose head (is) broken

Example Sentences

Gérôme’s canvas, which he painted over the winter of 1868-1869, depicts a so-called Bashi-Bazouk.

Read more on Washington Post

A century later, “Bashi-Bazouk” was bought at auction by William Koch, the oil billionaire.

Read more on Washington Post

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which owns “Bashi-Bazouk,” has another painting by Gérôme portraying a different model in the same colorful headdress.

Read more on Washington Post

Still, the psychological subtlety in “Bashi-Bazouk” — the model’s breathing, proximate presence — tends to keep such speculation at bay.

Read more on Washington Post

But what about the afterlife of “Bashi-Bazouk”?

Read more on Washington Post