dey
Americannoun
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deys
plural
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the title of the governor of Algiers before the French conquest in 1830.
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a title sometimes used by the former rulers of Tunis and Tripoli.
noun
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the title given to commanders or (from 1710) governors of the Janissaries of Algiers (1671–1830)
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a title applied by Western writers to various other Ottoman governors, such as the bey of Tunis
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dey
1650–60; < French < Turkish dayι originally, maternal uncle
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"Who dey" got its own day on Monday.
From Fox News ● Feb. 7, 2022
The other women sang back in harmony: “Martha, carry me dey go, dey go, dey go.”
From New York Times ● Sep. 3, 2021
“Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?” the fans chanted.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 5, 2019
“Dat just how dey do,” was the refrain I heard, in patois laced with resignation.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2018
Dey claims dey’s after de unemployed, but dey ain’t bein’ too particular about whether you’se employed or not.
From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston
“Dat’s jealousy and malice. Some uh dem very mens wants tuh do whut dey claim deys skeered Tea Cake is doin’.”
From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston
As deys went, Achmet was a comparatively respectable man.
From The Pirate City An Algerine Tale by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
All my other w'ite folks is gone; my sister done gone too, and my son; all de chillun dat I had, deys done daid too.
From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Georgia Narratives, Part 1 by Work Projects Administration
Well, den," she resumed, "Quail start inter de meanness he bin hatchin' up, an' he say, sezee, 'Uncle Wolf, deys a man down dar below whar gittin' ter be dangersome.
From The Wit and Humor of America, Volume VII. (of X.) by Marshall Pinckney Wilder
Therle Marchall knelyng on the same deys upon the left side of the Quene, held another sceptre of the Quenes upright.
From A Chronicle of London from 1089 to 1483 Written in the Fifteenth Century, and for the First Time Printed from MSS. in the British Museum by Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
