janissary
part of speech
noun (a janissary, janissaries; also Janissary)
meaning for a pupil
1) (history) A soldier in the elite foot army of the Ottoman (Turkish) sultans, from about the 1300s to 1826. tree →
2) (rare) A loyal follower or guard who does whatever a powerful leader wants. tree →
sense in the lessons
In history lessons about the Ottoman Empire, the janissaries were the sultan's trained soldiers; boys from Christian families in the Balkans were taken and trained for this army, which is a sad and important part of the story. They also had famous military bands. Phrases: the Janissary corps, a janissary band.
examples
- The janissaries guarded the Ottoman sultan. tree →
- Janissary bands played loud drums and cymbals. tree →
- Many janissaries were taken from their families as boys. tree →
- The sultan closed down the janissaries in 1826. tree →
- Our history book shows a janissary with a tall white hat. tree →
- The janissaries were famous for their discipline. tree →
- Some dictators surround themselves with janissaries who never question them. tree →
note
Countable: a janissary, janissaries (y → ies). Often with a capital J. Also spelled «janizary». Pronounced JAN-i-ser-ee. A historical word; in modern talk it is used only as a strong image.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «janissary» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.