janissary
Americannoun
-
(often initial capital letter) a member of an elite military unit of the Turkish army organized in the 14th century and abolished in 1826 after it revolted against the Sultan.
-
(often initial capital letter) any soldier in the Turkish army.
-
a member of any group of loyal guards, soldiers, or supporters.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of janissary
1520–30; < French janissaire < Italian gian ( n ) izzero < Turkish yeniçeri, equivalent to yeni new + çeri soldiery, militia
Explanation
A janissary is a devoted follower or steadfast ally. The people chanting supportively and waving signs at political rallies are usually the candidate's janissaries. Today's janissary is a hardcore supporter, someone whose priorities and opinions align with a particular person or group. The original meaning of the word, also spelled janizary or janisary, was "elite Turkish soldier," from a root that means "new troops." The earliest janissaries, in the 13th century, were mostly composed of war prisoners or slaves — rather than being devoted to a cause, they were forced to support it.
Vocabulary lists containing janissary
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:
However, the older janissary corps resisted his efforts.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2012
Bork became a self-proclaimed "janissary" to Director, a loyal soldier who became a fellow in Chicago's "law and economics" program, a bastion of probusiness research.
From Time Magazine Archive
To him, Hunt was the janissary of a dead vernacular.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
From that fosse there went against the walls an unceasing fire from janissary muskets.
From Pan Michael An Historical Novel of Poland, the Ukraine, and Turkey. by Sienkiewicz, Henryk
A struggle began then between muskets and janissary guns.
From Pan Michael An Historical Novel of Poland, the Ukraine, and Turkey. by Sienkiewicz, Henryk
So Bovino and his janissaries posing in front of the Hollywood sign comes off like a hunter posing in front of his killed prey or a taunting postcard to L.A.:
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2025
It was sponsored by the state in many case: the Ottoman royal court supported the Mevlevi, the janissaries the Bektashi, in Mughal India the Chishti, etc..
From New York Times ● Sep. 23, 2016
The other was a force that Abbas recruited from the Christian north and modeled after the Ottoman janissaries.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2012
An elite force of 30,000 soldiers known as janissaries was trained to be loyal to the sultan only.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2012
On the following day, the vizir himself arrived before Kamenyets at the head of a numerous army of spahis, janissaries, and the general militia from Asia.
From Pan Michael An Historical Novel of Poland, the Ukraine, and Turkey. by Sienkiewicz, Henryk
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.
