giaour

American  

[jou-^uhr, jou-er] / ˈdʒaʊ ər, ˈdʒaʊ ər /

noun

Turkish.

1. an unbeliever; a non-Muslim, especially a Christian.

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giaour British  

/ ˈdʒaʊə /

noun

1. a derogatory term for a non-Muslim, esp a Christian, used esp by the Turks

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Etymology

Origin of giaour

1555–65; earlier gower, gour < Turkish gâvur < Persian gaur, variant of gabr Zoroastrian, non-Muslim; spelling giaour < French, with gi- representing Turk palatalized g, later taken as spelling for j

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

giaour

In the Combat version, the giaour and the pasha do battle astride black Arabian horses, brandishing Turkish weapons that Delacroix had sketched from originals belonging to a French collector.

From Time Magazine Archive

And as in those days, which were long before the introduction of Mr. Cook's "personally conducted tours," tourists were few, the presence of a "giaour" in the Mohammedan quarter was an extraordinary event.

From Celebrated Women Travellers of the Nineteenth Century by Adams, W. H. Davenport

And now something happened which had hitherto been deemed incredible; the Sultan sued for peace, a true believer and a sovereign, from an unbelieving giaour.

From Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 1 A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History by Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)

And now something happened which had hitherto been deemed incredible: the Sultan sued for peace—a true believer and a sovereign, from an "unbelieving giaour."

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 08 The Later Renaissance: from Gutenberg to the Reformation by Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)

A strict analogy to giaour is found in the Arabic kaffir, or unbeliever, which is so commonly in use as to have become the proper name of peoples and countries.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 8 "Germany" to "Gibson, William" by Various