Turk

¹

[turk]

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Turkey.

2. (formerly) a native or inhabitant of the Ottoman Empire.

3. a Muslim, especially a subject of the Sultan of Turkey.

4. a member of any of the peoples speaking Turkic languages.

5. one of a breed of Turkish horses closely related to the Arabian horse.

6. any Turkish horse.

7. Young Turk.

8. Archaic.,  a cruel, brutal, and domineering man.

Turk.

²

abbreviation

1. Turkey.

2. Turkic. Also Turk

3. Turkish. Also Turk

Turk

¹

/ tɜːk /

noun

1. a native, inhabitant, or citizen of Turkey

2. a native speaker of any Turkic language, such as an inhabitant of Turkmenistan or Kyrgyzstan

3. obsolete,  a violent, brutal, or domineering person

Turk.

²

abbreviation

1. Turkey

2. Turkish

Other Word Forms

• non-Turk noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Turk¹

First recorded in 1400–50; from Old French Turc, Middle English Turke, Turque, ultimately from Turkish Türk; compare Medieval Latin Turcus, Medieval Greek Toûrkos, Middle French turc, Italian turco, Persian turk

Example Sentences

"They continue instead to kill, injure, and displace civilians, and to attack civilian objects, including... hospitals and mosques, with total disregard for international law," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said.

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UN rights chief Volker Turk "renews his call on security forces to desist from unnecessary force and to uphold the rights to free association and peaceful assembly," it said.

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During World War One, Britain invaded Palestine, driving out the Ottoman Turks, and it facilitated its promise for a Jewish homeland made in the 1917 Balfour Declaration.

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Turkish authorities argued the doner should be viewed a national dish that spread to Europe through the migration of Turks.

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It was a time when the Turkish Baybasins gang, also known as the Hackney Turks, or Bombacilars, had a fearsome reputation.

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