Rumelian
/ruːˈmiːlɪən/ /rʊˈmiːlɪən/(also Roumelian) Now historical
adjective
Of, relating to, or belonging to Rumelia, a region in the Balkan peninsula formerly ruled by the Ottoman Empire.
- In former Ottoman use, Rumelia was applied to roughly the whole region under Turkish rule south of the Balkan Mountains, east of the Adriatic, and north of the Peloponnese; in later more general use, it referred to approximately the regions of ancient Macedonia and Thrace, or to Thrace alone..
noun
A native or inhabitant of Rumelia; = Rumeliot.
Origin
Mid 18th century; earliest use found in Nicholas Tindal (1687–1774), historical writer and translator. From Rumelia, the name of a region in the Balkan peninsula (from Ottoman Turkish Rūmili, Rūmeli (Turkish Rumeli), lit. ‘province of the Greeks’ from rūm inhabitant of the Byzantine Empire, Greek + il province + -i, suffix marking the last element of a compound; goes to medieval Greek Ῥούμελη (modern Greek Ρούμελη)) + -an. Compare French roumélien, noun.