bey
Pluralbeys
- 1A prince or nobleman, as the title is borne in various other regions and cultures.
The bey received tributes from the surrounding villages each spring.
Rival beys formed alliances through marriage to secure their estates.
Note
Here the title travels beyond provincial government. In Ottoman Turkish the word meant "gentleman, chief", not only a ruler. That breadth is why it could become a general mark of princely or noble rank, apart from the governor's office. The plural is regular: rival beys, the beys of the region.
- 2A governor of a province or district within the Turkish or Ottoman territories.
The bey governed the coastal province on behalf of the sultan.
She was chaperoned by the widow of a Bey whose son had been at Oxford with him, and this gave him the excuse to exchange a few words with her, and then to be presented to the Princess.
1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia (Avignon Quintet)Note
A word that now belongs mostly to the past. Ottoman Turkish took it from Old Anatolian Turkish beg, "ruler", which goes back to Proto-Turkic *bēg, "lord". Lawrence Durrell's Livia (1978) capitalizes it as a title: the widow of a Bey. Jon Courtenay Grimwood's Pashazade (2005) writes it lowercase as a rank someone holds: he ranked as a bey. Capitalize the title and lowercase the rank.
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Origin
Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish "bey" (gentleman, chief), which came from Old Anatolian Turkish "beg" (ruler), tracing back to Proto-Turkic "*bēg" (lord).