| 释义 |
‖ zaim, n.|zaˈim|
Pl. same or zaims.
[Turk. zaim, ad. Arab. zaꜥīm chieftain; in sense b, directly from the Arabic (= spokesman, leader, ringleader).]
a. Formerly, in the feudal system of Turkey, a chief who supported a mounted militia bearing his name. Cf. timariot n. Hist.
1807T. Thornton Present State of Turkey v. 165 Each of the feudal lords, whether zaïms or timariots, were enjoined by the charter by which they held their estates, to proceed to war. 1845Encycl. Metrop. XV. 509/2 These Beys have the command over all the individuals in a certain district, who hold lands on the same tenure; the latter are called sipáhís or soldiers (seapoys), and in our books zaïms and timariots, from the different sort of estates which they hold in fee. 1913A. H. Lybyer Govt. Ottoman Empire 101 The Zaims and Timariotes..were a class of country gentlemen.
b. In Lebanon, a popular leader or influential figure.
1975New Society 23 Oct. 207/2 A characteristically Lebanese political institution, that of the zaim (leader) and his network of co-religionist clients. 1983Listener 8 Sept. 6/2 When revolution came, it was..from the strongholds of the political godfathers—the zaꜥims—Christian and Muslim, who ran the country as an extension of their personal fiefdoms. |