Turkishadj.n.
/ˈtəːkɪʃ/, U.S. /ˈtərkɪʃ/ A. adj.
a. Of, pertaining or belonging to the Turks or to Turkey; commonly (now Historical) = Ottoman.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Near East, Middle East, or Asia Minor > native or inhabitant of Turkey > [adjective]
Turkesea1400
Turkish1545
Turcian1576
Turkesco1584
Mahometan1600
Ottoman1601
Turcical1602
Ottomanic1648
Ottomanean1658
Turcic1661
Othman1734
Osmanli1832
Turkicized1964
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus i. f. 36 Surely no Turkyshe power can ouerthrowe vs, if Turkysshe lyfe do not cast vs downe before.
1546 P. Ashton tr. P. Jovius (title) A shorte treatise vpon the Turkes Chronicles;..The begynnyng of the turkysshe empyre. The lyues of al the Turkyshe Emperours.
1552–3 Inventory Church Goods in Ann. Diocese Lichfield (1863) IV. 44 Itm: a cope of turkishe saten.
a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 18 This opinion is not French, but plaine Turckishe.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. xvii. 19 b To weare armes against the Turkish nation.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie iii. ii. 71 To learne the turkish language.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) i. iii. 8 Yet doe they all confirme A Turkish fleete, and bearing vp to Cipresse. View more context for this quotation
a1658 J. Durham Expos. Rev. (1680) ix. ii. 385 The first Turkish Government being by four Souldans.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron (ed. 2) I. v. xviii. 304 Free-thinkers, who at present applaud Turkish Maxims and Manners.
1842 J. C. Prichard Nat. Hist. Man 209 The Turkish tribes have been often erroneously termed Tartars.
1870 C. Dickens Edwin Drood iii. 17 ‘I want to go to the Lumps-of-Delight shop.’ ‘To the ——?’ ‘A Turkish sweetmeat, sir.’
1896 Æ. J. G. Mackay Hist. Fife & Kinross ii. 32 His Arab charger with his Turkish trappings was led to the high altar.
b. Like or resembling the Turks, their character, or that attributed to them; cruel, savage, barbarous.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > cruelty > [adjective] > barbarously
barbarical1569
barbarous1594
Turkish1602
Moorish1795
Saracenic1836
Turk-like1850
medieval1917
Neanderthalic1922
1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 242 Turkish, Iesuitish, Puritanian, and barbarous designements.
1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 246 There is no mischiefe or villany, which they [Jesuits] will not attempt, to further their most sauage and Turkish designements.
1603 T. Dekker 1603: Wonderfull Yeare sig. F3v They..seeme by their turkish and barbarous actions to belieue that there is no felicitie after this life.
1649 J. Milton Observations in Articles of Peace with Irish Rebels 52 An elective Kingdome, and after that a perfect Turkish tyranny.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Turkish Treatment, very sharp or ill dealing in Business.
B. n.
1. The Turkish or Turk's language.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > languages of the world > Altaic > [noun] > Turkic > southern Turkic languages
Turkish1718
Turkoman1798
Osmanli1843
Azerbaijani1888
1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 16 Mar. (1965) I. 390 In Pera they speak Turkish, Greek, Hebrew, Armenian, Arabic, Persian, Russian [etc.].
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea I. xxxii. 213 With the assistance of the Tartar boy, who spoke Turkish and Russ, I found my way to the sea-coast.
1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 662/1 The relative pronoun has been borrowed from the Persian in many dialects; it is absent in the original Turkish.
2. elliptical for Turkish fashion, people, etc.; also colloquial for Turkish delight n. at Compounds 2b, Turkish tobacco n. at Compounds 2a(b), etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > [noun] > of type from specific area
Trinidado1599
Verinas1624
Virginia1624
Orinoco1660
merry land1688
Virginia tobacco1700
Varinas1747
Latakia1833
tumbak1836
Shiraz1840
mahorka1857
Turkish1859
perique1865
Sobranie1899
torori1905
Yenidje1954
a1674 J. Milton Brief Hist. Moscovia (1682) i. 16 The rest..ride with a short Stirrup after the Turkish.
1859 A. J. Munby Diary 2 Mar. in D. Hudson Munby (1972) 24 Long clays also, & a tall jar..of real Turkish.
1898 Cent. Mag. Feb. 558/1 The best ‘Turkish’ [sc. tobacco] the town provided.
1901 F. Hume Golden Wang-ho x Feeling for another lump of ‘Turkish’ [sc. delight].
Compounds
In special collocations. C1.
Turkish bath n. a hot bath introduced from the East and once extensively used, inducing copious perspiration, followed by soaping, washing, shampooing, massage, and cooling. Also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing oneself or body > [noun] > bathing > a bath > hot air or steam bath
stew1390
stovec1485
stufe1541
stow1614
furo1615
Turkish bath1644
estuary1657
steam-bath1725
Russian bath1770
stufa1832
sweat-bath1877
sauna1881
shvitz1937
1644 K. Digby Two Treat. i. xxvii. 243 The Turkesh bathes..that seemeth chilly cold att his returne; which appeared melting hoat att his going in.
1867 F. W. Newman in Mem. (1909) ix. 200 Turkish-bath keepers find it [smallpox] a most tractable disease.
1876 J. S. Bristowe Treat. Theory & Pract. Med. ii. v. 733 For diaphoretic purposes we must not forget the value of the hot bath, the vapour bath, and the Turkish bath.
1908 Daily Chron. 5 Oct. 5/7 The Turkish bath conditions in which London has been living for the past few days were not so pronounced, and a drier heat seems to have taken the place of the vapour.
C2.
a.
(a) See Turkey n.1 Compounds 1, Compounds 3, turkey-cock n., etc.
Turkish bean n.
ΚΠ
1894 E. Eggleston in Cent. Mag. Apr. 849 The beans..found here were called ‘Turkish-beans’ by the first Dutch and Swedish writers on America.
Turkish cock n.
ΚΠ
1850 D. J. Browne Amer. Poultry Yard 51 Aldrovandi, [1599–1603] in describing a Turkish cock and two Turkish hens, says: ‘The cock, whose likeness we now give, is called the Turkish cock’.
Turkish hen n.
ΚΠ
1850 D. J. Browne Amer. Poultry Yard 51 Aldrovandi, [1599–1603] in describing a Turkish cock and two Turkish hens, says: ‘The cock, whose likeness we now give, is called the Turkish cock’.
Turkish horse n.
ΚΠ
a1648 Ld. Herbert Life Henry VIII (1649) 194 He got hastily upon a Turkish and swift horse.
Turkish red n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > red or redness > [noun] > shades of red > bright red or scarlet
cockea1382
coccyn1382
coctin1382
vermiliona1400
scarlet-redc1405
sinoper1412
scarletc1440
sinople?c1450
vermeletc1530
lusty gallant1587
vermeil1590
vermeil red1590
minium1601
cinnabar?1614
cochineal1632
poppy red1679
poppy colour1705
cherry-colour1720
ponceau1782
Turkey red1789
pinkc1791
coquelicot1795
poppy1796
cherry-red1802
vermilion-red1815
cardinal scarlet1828
geranium1842
dahlia1846
cardinal red1850
cerise1858
cardinal1874
scarlet-crimson1882
vermilion-scarlet1882
pillar box1894
Turkish red1900
signal red1909
fuchsia1923
the world > matter > colour > named colours > red or redness > red colouring matter > [noun] > dyes and dyestuffs
madderOE
grain1335
alkanet1343
Brazilc1386
crop-maddera1399
red-scarletc1400
alcanna?a1425
lac?c1425
madder root?c1450
incarnationa1475
jarecork1483
orchil1483
mull1507
orcanet1548
Bristol-red1551
red sanders1553
cochineal1582
safflower1583
chay1588
Pernambuco1595
red sanderswood1598
redwood1634
peach woodc1638
scarlet1653
mesteque1667
bow-dye1676
sylvester1697
corkir1703
gamene1703
orchilla1703
crap1721
saffranon1731
kino1788
Turkey red1789
lizary1791
granilla1812
munjeet1813
rubiate1835
orcein1838
purpurin1839
ruby wood1843
sassafrid1852
aal1853
pink salt1853
magenta1860
fuchsine1865
paeonin1865
safranine1868
corallin1873
marina1874
Magdala red1875
alizarin1878
eosin1879
Turkey red oil1879
roccelline1880
ponceau1885
amarant1888
phloxine1890
hypernic1897
Turkish red1900
Lithol red1930
1900 Jrnl. Soc. Dyers & Colourists 16 4 Dyeing in Adrianople or Turkish Red.
Turkish stone n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > phosphates > [noun] > hydrous aluminium or copper
turquoise1398
Turkey1487
Turkish stone1577
Turkey stone1607
turquoise stone1796
agaphite1819
chalchuite1843
henwoodite1876
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > gem or precious stone > turquoise > [noun]
turquoise1398
Turkey1487
Turkish stone1577
Turkey stone1607
turquoise stone1796
1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. II. iv. ix. Lll.iiijv/1 His bodie..was like the Turkishe or Iasper stone.
Turkish wheat n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > corn, cereals, or grain > [noun] > maize
maizea1544
Turkey corn1597
turkey wheat1598
Indian corn1604
Indian1641
Turkish wheat1670
mealies1801
kanga1843
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > maize
Turkey corn1597
turkey wheat1598
Indian corn1604
Indian1641
Turkish wheat1670
mealies1801
kanga1843
1670 J. Covel Diary in J. T. Bent Early Voy. Levant (1893) 120 They make some [bread] of pure good wheat,..some of what we call Turkish wheat.
1894 Cent. Mag. Apr. 849 Henry Hudson..called the maize ‘Turkish wheat’.
(b)
Turkish cigarette n. (also Turkish cig)
ΚΠ
1896 R. Kipling Captains Courageous i, in McClure's Mag. Nov. 18/2 Any gen'elman got a real Turkish cig on him?
1903 A. Bennett Truth about Author xiii. 172 The aroma of coffee, the odour of Turkish cigarettes.
1950 G. Greene Third Man vii. 56 The Turkish cigarettes that Harry always smoked.
1982 T. Keneally Schindler's Ark ix. 102 Oskar Schindler—in his coat with the fur lapels..reaching for another Turkish cigarette.
Turkish tobacco n.
ΚΠ
1827 M. Wilmot Let. 10 Oct. (1935) 305 If you add a pipe and some turkish tobacco..you will have the portrait of most of our beaux.
1981 A. Mackay Death on Eno 68 The Turkish tobacco is added for aroma.
b.
Turkish carpet n. = Turkey carpet n.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > floor-covering > [noun] > carpet > Oriental > Turkish
Turkey carpet1546
turquesques1594
Turkey carpeting1843
Kilim1881
Turkish carpet1886
Anatolian1900
Ushak1901
Smyrna1904
Smyrna carpet1904
1886 S. W. Mitchell Roland Blake v. 42 The room..was luxuriously comfortable with a heavy-piled Turkish carpet and easy-chairs.
1977 J. Fleming & H. Honour Penguin Dict. Decorative Arts 805/2 Turkish carpets..differ from Persian carpets..stylistically in that their design seems invariably to have been created by weavers rather than painters.
Turkish coffee n. the strong (usually sweet) black coffee commonly drunk in the East, in which the ground beans are boiled thrice over and the liquid is served with the grounds; a cup of such coffee.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > coffee > [noun] > Turkish coffee
Turkish coffee1854
1854 F. Duberly Let. 17 Aug. in E. E. P. Tisdall Mrs. Duberly's Campaigns (1963) ii. 54 Rum and water till bedtime, or the very strongest Turkish coffee.
1898 G. B. Shaw Arms & Man ii. 22 (stage direct.) A small table..is laid for breakfast with Turkish coffee pot, cups, rolls, etc.
1958 L. Durrell Mountolive xiv. 267 She was sitting in the lounge of Shepheards Hotel under the clock with an untouched Turkish coffee before her.
1978 H. Kaplan Damascus Cover xv. 155 Ari ordered a second cup of thick Turkish coffee.
Turkish crescent n. Music = Chinese pavilion n. at Chinese adj. and n. Compounds 7; cf. jingling Johnny n. (a) at jingling adj. 2 (a).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > percussion instrument > bell > [noun] > Chinese pavilion
Chinese pavilion1837
pavillon chinois1876
Turkish crescent1891
jingling Johnny1904
1891 C. R. Day Descriptive Catal. Musical Instruments Royal Mil. Exhib., London, 1890 xii. 233 There were specimens of the old Turkish Crescent (chapeau chinois), once a favourite adjunct to military bands, and known in former years by the familiar nick-name of ‘Jingling Johnny’. They consisted of brass hoops, hung with little bells.., and ornamented with gilded crescents and long streaming tails of horse-hair. They were carried upon poles.
1938 Oxf. Compan. Music 965/1 Turkish crescent or Turkish jingle.., a noise maker introduced into military bands..at a time when there was a craze for ‘Turkish music’.
1961 J. Blades in A. C. Baines Musical Instruments through Ages xiv. 338 The middle of the eighteenth century when European military bands were being increased to include percussion instruments on the lines of the Turkish military music—bass drum, cymbals, triangle, and sometimes also tambourine and the Jingling Johnny or Turkish Crescent.
Turkish delight n. a sweetmeat consisting of gelatine boiled, cubed, and dusted with sugar, rahat lokum n.; cf. lumps of delight n. at lump n.1 Phrases.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > confections or sweetmeats > sweets > [noun] > a sweet > Turkish delight
rahat lokum1808
lumps of delight1870
Turkish delight1877
rahat1931
[1870 [see sense A. a]. ]
1877 Porcupine 31 Mar. 843/2 Arabs and Greeks vended Turkish delight (horrible compound).
1888 Boy's Own Paper Summer 38/1 Instead of the usual boxes of..Turkish delight,..there was little to tempt the youthful appetite but piles of fruit.
1901 F. Hume Golden Wang-ho x The thrusting forward of the Turkish delight box.
Turkish music n. see quots.
ΚΠ
1889 G. Grove Dict. Music IV. 191 Turkish Music.., the accepted name for the noisy percussion instruments—big-drum, cymbals, triangle—in the orchestra.
Turkish rocket n. = rocket n.4 2.
ΚΠ
1887 Amer. Naturalist 21 442 It is called in England Turkish Rocket.
Turkish rug n. = Turkish music n.
ΚΠ
1901 R. B. Holt Rugs ii. 52 Turkish Rugs includes all those rugs that are manufactured within the Turkish Empire, whether [by] Kurds or Circassians or Christians;..Turkish rugs are not so finely woven as Persian.
Turkish slipper n. a soft heelless slipper with turned-up toe, a babouche.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > footwear > shoe or boot > shoe > [noun] > types of > light shoe or slipper > Turkish or Oriental
papoosh1675
babouche1695
Turkish slipper1865
1865 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend II. iii. i. 3 Mr. Fledgeby's appearing erect at the foot of the bed in Turkish slippers, rose-coloured Turkish trousers..and a gown and cap to correspond.
1971 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Doctor Bird v. 65 He [sc. a Turkish dancer] wore a cinnamon tunic and trousers with gold Turkish slippers.
Turkish stitch n. a kind of stitch used in Turkish and other embroideries.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > sewn or ornamented textile fabric > [noun] > embroidery or ornamental sewing > stitch > other
chain-stitch1598
French knot1623
picot1623
petty-point1632
tent-stitch1639
brede-stitch1640
herringbone stitch1659
satin stitch1664
feather-stitch1835
Gobelin stitch1838
crowfoot1839
seedingc1840
German stitch1842
petit point1842
long stitch1849
looped stitch1851
hem-stitch1853
loop-stitch1853
faggot stitch1854
spider-wheel1868
dot stitch1869
picot stitch1869
slip-stitch1872
coral-stitch1873
stem stitch1873
rope stitch1875
Vienna cross stitch1876
witch stitch1876
pin stitch1878
seed stitch1879
cushion-stitch1880
Japanese stitch1880
darning-stitch1881
Kensington stitch1881
knot-stitch1881
bullion knot1882
cable pattern1882
Italian stitch1882
lattice-stitch1882
queen stitch1882
rice stitch1882
shadow-stitch1882
ship-ladder1882
spider-stitch1882
stem1882
Vandyke stitch1882
warp-stitch1882
wheel-stitch1882
basket-stitch1883
outline stitch1885
pointing1888
bullion stitchc1890
cable-stitchc1890
oriental stitchc1890
Turkish stitchc1890
Romanian stitch1894
shell-stitch1895
saddle stitch1899
magic stitch1900
plumage-stitch1900
saddle stitching1902
German knot stitch1903
trellis1912
padding stitch1913
straight stitch1918
Hungarian stitch1921
trellis stitch1921
lazy daisy1923
diamond stitchc1926
darning1930
faggot filling stitch1934
fly stitch1934
magic chain stitch1934
glove stitch1964
pad stitch1964
c1890 T. de Dillmont Encycl. Needlewk. 94 Triangular two-sided Turkish stitch worked diagonally.
c1890 T. de Dillmont Encycl. Needlewk. 96 Triangular two-sided Turkish stitch worked horizontally.
c1890 T. de Dillmont Encycl. Needlewk. 115 The triangular Turkish stitch..is particularly effective when combined with other kinds of embroidery.
Turkish towel n. see quot. 1882.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > cotton > [noun] > with nap
swan's-down1801
Turkish towel1862
grebe-cloth1882
winceyette1922
1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 3648 Royal Turkish towels.
1882 S. F. A. Caulfeild & B. C. Saward Dict. Needlework 504 Turkish Towels..are cotton cloths, having a long nap, cut or uncut.
Turkish trousers n. baggy pantaloons.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > trousers > types of > wide or loose
slops1481
shipman's hose1540
slop1560
shipman's breek1563
drawers1567
kelsouns1568
scaling1577
scavilones1577
scabilonian1600
calzoons1615
linings1631
swabber-slopsa1658
pantaloon1686
underslops1737
trousers1773
pyjamas1801
Cossacks1820
Turkish trousers1821
hakama1822
salwar1824
slacks1824
sherwal1844
overall1845
bag1853
sack-pants1856
bloomer1862
trouser skirt1883
petticoat trousers1885
mompe1908
step-in1922
bombachas1936
baggies1962
jams1966
palazzo1970
hose-
c1612 W. Strachey Hist. Trav. Virginia (1953) i. v. 73 A kynd of leather breeches and stockings, all fastened togither..which they tye and wrappe about the loynes after the fashion of the Turkes or Irish Trouses.]
1821 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto III lxxii. 39 Her orange silk full Turkish trowsers furl'd About the prettiest ankle in the world.
1865 [see Turkish slipper n.]. 1928 V. Woolf Orlando iv. 140 The Turkish trousers which she had hitherto worn.
1973 Guardian 10 Apr. 13/2 Twinsets..allied to jersey wrapover skirts, loose lopped-off pants, Turkish trousers.
Derivatives
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Near East, Middle East, or Asia Minor > native or inhabitant of Turkey > [noun]
turkeina1330
Turka1400
Turkman1481
Ottoman1546
Turkisher1607
Ottomanic1614
Ottomitea1616
Othman1787
Johnny Turk1836
Johnny1854
1607 R. C. tr. H. Estienne World of Wonders 13 I soone perceiued that it was my onely course to preuent these turkishers, by being mine owne interpreter.
Draft additions December 2020
Designating a latrine or toilet characteristic of or associated with Turkey, now esp. a shallow pan at ground level designed to be used in a squatting or standing position, typically having a drainage hole in the centre and footrests on either side.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > privy or latrine > [adjective] > type of privy, lavatory, or W.C.
Turkish1855
washdown1881
flush1908
outside1913
1855 A. Smith Let. 23 Mar. in Rep. Commissioners Regulations Sanitary Condition Army (1858) App. 45/2 in Parl. Papers 1857–8 XIX. 1 The Board recommends the abandonment of the Turkish privy, and the formation of other latrines..called the sluice privy.
1941 ‘R. West’ Black Lamb & Grey Falcon I. 287 In this hotel [in the Balkans] I found the most westward Turkish lavatory I have ever encountered: a hole in the floor with a depression for a foot on each side of it, and a tap that sends water flowing along a groove laid with some relevance to the business in hand.
2012 J. E. Luckett Passing Love xv. 95 Not one..place did Ruby find objectionable in this city [sc. Paris], except, maybe, the occasional Turkish toilet where she had to squat, not sit, to do her personal business.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† turkishv.
Obsolete.
transitive. To transform, esp. for the worse; to pervert; to turn into something different.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > shape or give shape to [verb (transitive)] > give another shape to
forshapeOE
transfigurea1340
transformc1340
transfigurate?a1475
turkess1530
turkish1560
turken1575
metamorphose1576
metamorphize1587
reform1634
deform1702
reshape1794
transmould1855
metamorphosize1888
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > corruption > [verb (transitive)]
forbraidc888
besmiteeOE
awemOE
filec1175
soila1250
envenomc1300
beshrewc1325
shrew1338
corrumpa1340
corrupt1382
subvertc1384
tache1390
poison1395
infect?c1400
intoxicatec1450
deprave1482
corrup1483
rust1493
turkess?1521
vitiate1534
prevary?1541
depravate1548
fester?1548
turkish1560
wry1563
taint1573
disalter1579
prevaricate1595
sophisticate1597
invitiate1598
fashion1600
tack1601
debauch1603
deturpate1623
disaltern1635
ulcer1642
deboise1654
Neronize1673
demoralize1794
bedevil1800
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cxlijv He [sc. Cardinal Pole]..sayeth how the Turkyshed seede is sowen abroade in England, and in Germany, signifiyng the doctrine that is contrary to the byshop of Rome.
1596 Vlysses vpon Aiax sig. E7 v Away with this serious talke, let vs turkish this text into a merrier colour.
1607 R. C. tr. H. Estienne World of Wonders 19 Turkishing the storie, or (to speak more properly) turning it into a meere fable.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
<
adj.n.1545
v.1560