An Attempt To Date
the Turks
G.D.O'Bradovich III
July 29, 2015
Courtesy of the Oxford English Dictionary: What did the English know about the Turks? And when did they know it? Citations after the year 1801 are omitted.
Forms:
Also ME–16 Turke, ME turque, 16 Turc; 18 Toork (sense 1).
Etymology:
= French Turc, feminine turque, Italian Turco, Turca, Spanish Turco, Turca, Portuguese Turco, Turca, medieval Latin Turcus,Turca, Byzantine Greek Τοῦρκος, Persian (and Arabic) turk.
A national name of unknown origin. Possibly the same as the Chinese equivalent Tu-kin, applied to a division of the Hiong-nu (identified by Deguigne with the Huns), who occupied the country south of the Altaian mountains c177_ b.c. (In Persian dicts. turk is explained as ‘A Turk, a beautiful youth, a barbarian, a robber’, but the last three definitions are only applications of the national name, not explanations of its original meaning.)
1. Ethnol. Chiefly in pl. Turks.
The name of a numerous and widely spread family of the human race, occupying from prehistoric times large parts of central Asia, and speaking a language and dialects belonging to the Turkic (Turkic adj.) branch of the Ural-Altaic (Finno-Tartar, or Turanian) linguistic family (a primary family of co-ordinate rank with the Indo-European or Aryan, and Semitic).
Within this linguistic family the Turks are usually held to stand between the Ugrians and Mongols, having closest relationship to the latter group. The form Toork or Tourk (after Persian) has been used by some (esp. in India) in this wide sense.
From their original home in central Asia, chiefly from Turkestan, hordes of Turks at various times assailed and conquered other lands. Of these, the best known in the West were those calling themselves, after famous leaders, Seljúk and Osmānli respectively. The former overthrew the Abbasides, or first Muslim caliphs of Baghdad, and founded the Seljúk dynasty in their room; the latter, after embracing Islām, and receiving much Persian and Arab culture, arose on the ruins of the Seljúk empire in a.d._1300 and became the ancestors of the Osmanli or Ottoman Turks in Asia and south-eastern Europe.
Probably the name Turk appears in English first in connection with the Third Crusade, 1187–92. The Turks of that date were Seljúks, not Ottomans. Saladin, the antagonist of Richard I, was a Kurd, originally in the service of the Seljúks. In this wide sense, the name is of comparatively late use in English and the European languages generally, the Turks of central Asia being unknown in Western Europe.
▸?a1513 W. Dunbar Ballat Abbot of Tungland in Poems (1998) 56 Me thocht a Turk of Tartary Come throw the boundis of Barbary And lay forloppin in Lumbardy.
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus i. f. 36, After them the Turkes hauing an other name, but yet the same people, borne in Scythia.
2 a. A native or inhabitant of Turkey; (formerly) a member of the dominant race of the Ottoman empire; sometimes extended to any subject of the Grand Turk or Turkish Sultan, but usually restricted to Muslim people; (in earlier times) a Seljúk; (from 1300) an Osmanli or Ottoman; a person who was, or considered himself, a descendant of the Osmanlis or other Turks. In pl._ the Turks, the Turkish people; (also) the Ottomans (nowhist.).
a1400 Coer de L. 5003 Thre thousand Turkes com, with bost, Betwen Jakes and his hoost.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) iv. 26 [Rodes] was wont to be clept Collos; and so callen it the Turkes ȝit.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) xiii. 145 But a gret man þat he [the Greek Emperour] sente for to kepe the contree aȝenst the Turkes vsurped the lond & helde it to him self, & cleped him Emperour of Trapazond.
c1480 (▸a1400) St. Nicholas 591 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 498 Lang tyme eftyre with gret were, þe turkis thru iniquite distroyt þe towne of myrre [= Myra].
1490 Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xiv. 348 We shall werre styll on goddys enmyes, as ben turques & sarrasins.
1517 R. Torkington Oldest Diarie Eng. Trav. (1884) 23 We war receyvyd by the Turkys and Sarrasyns.
1547 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 11 Hedpeces to the same, turkes ffasshyon of blewe Red & yolowe sarcenet.
1599 T. Dallam Diary in Early Voy. Levant (1893) i. 79 My drugaman..was a Turke, but a Cornish man borne.
1634 Cal. State Papers, Domest. 31 May (1864) 44 Complaints out of the west country of divers outrages lately committed in those parts by Turks and pirates.
a1658 J. Durham Expos. Rev. (1680) v. ii. 275 To redeem so many of them from the bondage of the Turks.
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1644 (1955) II. 165 One Turke..he much favourd, who waited on him in his Cabine.
1673 J. Ray Observ. Journey Low-countries 140 The Turcs at our being there [i.e. at Vienna] having taken Neuhausel.
1696 E. Phillips New World of Words (ed. 5) Turk, a Subject of the Grand Signiors, who is also call'd the Great Turk.
b. the Turk n. Turkish people regarded collectively; the Turkish power. Also: the Turkish Sultan, the Grand Turk (see sense 2c) (hist.). Now rare.
?1482 J. Kay tr. G. Caoursin Siege of Rhodes ⁋3 In what tyme that thees thynges were thought and counseyled in Constantynople among the turke and his counseyle.
1561 New Cal. 17 Jan. in Prayer-bk. Q. Eliz. (1890) 194 The good Prince Scanderbeg,..a scourge to the Turke.
1581 W. Allen Apol. Two Eng. Colleges f. 18v, Christians of al sortes,..and al other vnder the Turke.
1608 Shakespeare King Lear xi. 83 In woman out paromord the Turke.
a1616 Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iv. vii. 73 The Turke that two and fiftie Kingdomes hath, Writes not so tedious a Stile as this.
1734 Pope Epist. to Arbuthnot 198 Should such a man, too fond to rule alone, Bear, like the Turk, no brother near the throne.
c. the Grand (also Great) Turk , the Ottoman Sultan. Cf. the Great Khan at khan n.1 a,the Great Mogul at Mogul n.1 1a. Now hist.
?1482 J. Kay tr. G. Caoursin Siege of Rhodes ⁋6 The turkes..saydyn that theyr lord the gret Turke was dede.
1503 Lett. Rich. III & Hen. VII (Rolls) I. 210 He said that the Grete Turke feared not the pope.
1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Place of Prayer ii, in J. Griffiths Two Bks. Homilies (1859) ii. 348 The Enemie of our Lord Christ, the great Turke.
1603 J. Florio tr. Montaigne Ess. i. xlii. 143 What longing-lust would not be alaide, to see three hundred women at his dispose and pleasure, as hath the Grand Turke in his Seraille?
1615 W. Bedwell Arabian Trudgman in tr. Mohammedis Imposturæ sig. N4, at Sultan, For thus they now call the Great Turke,..The Souldan of Stamboli.
1689 Charges against Andros & Others in Andros Tracts (1868) I. 165 They were as Arbitrary as the great Turk.
1731 J. Pitts True & Faithful Acct. Mahometans (ed. 3) viii. 175 Where he became Capatan-Bashaw, i.e. the Head of the Captains of the Grand Turks Men of War.
†d. More widely: a Saracen. Obs.
a1400 Coer de L. 4971 Thre thousand Turkes com at the last, With bowe Turkeys, and arweblaste.
e. Young Turks: see Young Turk n. 2.
3 a. Often used as: = Muslim.From c1300 the Turks were to Christian nations the typical Muslim power.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxxiii, [He] hated hym more then a Panym, or a Turke.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Celebr. Holye Communion f. lii, Haue mercy vpon all Jewes, Turkes, Infidels, and heretikes.
1647 J. Howell New Vol. of Lett. 30 No Jew is capable to be a Turk but he must be first an Abdvla a Christian.
1695 J. Collier Misc. upon Moral Subj. 136 He is a Christian at Rome, a Heathen at Japan, and a Turk at Constantinople.
1725 I. Watts Logick i. vi. §10 A divine distributes [mankind] into Turks, Heathens, Jews, or Christians.
b. In to turn Turk , become Turk, and similar phrases. (Also in senses 2, 4.)
?1592 Trag. Solyman & Perseda sig. F1v, What say these prisoners, will they turne Turke, or no?
1604 Shakespeare Hamlet iii. ii. 264 If the rest of my fortunes turne Turk with me.
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey i. 54 No Iew can turne Turke, untill he first turne Christian.
1629 J. Mabbe tr. C. de Fonseca Deuout Contempl. 403 The Souldier, he will turne Turke vpon point either of profit, or of honor.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. iv. 141 [He] turnd Turke, and was circumcised.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 42 Many are perswaded, that when a Jew turns Turk, he must first become Christian, which is very false.
1737 S. Berington Mem. G. di Lucca 304 He offered to turn Turk, if they would spare him.
4. In extended use.
a. (Applied to) any one having qualities historically attributed to Turks; a cruel, rigorous, or tyrannical person; any one behaving barbarically or savagely. Also: a bad-tempered or unmanageable person; a man who treats his wife harshly. Often (with alliterative qualification) terrible Turk; (also) Young Turk n. 1, an unmanageable or violent child or youth.little Turk: see little adj., pron., n., and adv. Special uses 4.
1536 Exhort. North 56 in F. J. Furnivall Ballads from MSS I. 306 Thes Sothorne turkes pervertyng owre lawe.
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 5v, Was neuer any Impe so wicked & barbarous, any Turke so vile and brutish.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Turk, any cruel hard-hearted Man.
†5. a. A human figure at which to practise shooting. Obs.
1569 T. Hearne in W. Camden Hist. Eliz. (1717) Pref. p.xxix, The shotinge with the brode arrowe, the shotinge at the twelve skore prick, the shotinge at the Turke.
1608 Pennyless Parl. in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) III. 76 A Turk can be hit at twelve score pricks in Finsbury Fields.
1616 Manifest. Abp. Spalato's Motives App. iii. 7 All the rest were but painted posts, and Turkes of ten pence, to fill and adorne the shooting-field.
1631 J. Burges Answer Reioyned 182 The Replier hath set vp a man of cloutes of his owne making, and then shootes at a Turke, as boyes doe.
b. A hideous image to frighten children; a bugbear. Obs.
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Manduco, a disguised or vglie picture vsed in shewes to make children afraid,..a turke, or a bug-beare.
6 a. A Turkish or Turkey horse.
1623 G. Markham Cheape & Good Husb. (ed. 3) i. iii. 42 The best Stallion to beget horses for the warres is the Courser, the Iennet, or the Turke.
1831 W. Youatt Horse iii. 29 Charles II. sent his master of the horse to the Levant, to purchase brood mares and stallions. These were principally Barbs and Turks.
†b. A Turkish sword or sabre, a scimitar. Obs.
1638 N. Whiting Albino & Bellama 108 He forthwith unsheathd his trusty Turke, Cald forth that blood which in his veines did lurk.
Compounds
C1. General attrib.: = Turkish adj.
?a1366 Romaunt Rose 923 In his honde holdyng Turke bowes two, fulle wel deuysed had he.
1534 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1905) VI. 193, iij quarteris of taphety turke, price of the elne xiiij s.
1708 London Gaz. No. 4435/4 To be sold,..a true Turk Stalion about 15 Hands high.
C2. Instrumental, as Turk-ruled, Turk-worked (adjs.), etc.
a1791 F. Grose Grumbler in Olio (1796) xi. 44 The best parlour..was furnished with Turk-worked chairs.
C3. In genitive.
a. In general compounds, as Turk's knife.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iii. xiv. 3/2 These are called Turks knives because they turne vpward in the back towards the end, or point of the blade.
b. In the names of plants, as Turk's turban. See also Turk's cap n., Turk's head n. 1.
1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 319/1 Turk's Turban, Ranunculus.
1. The land of the Turks, ‘Turkey in Asia’ and ‘Turkey in Europe’; formerly sometimes Turkestan or Tartary.
c1369 Chaucer Bk. Duchesse 1026 Ne sende men in-to Walakye,..To Alisaundre, ne in-to Turkye.
c1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 1435 Þer is þe lond of torke.
▸?a1513 W. Dunbar Ballat Abbot of Tungland in Poems (1998) 58 A fedrem on he tuke..in Turky for to fle.
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Hiiiv/2, Turkie, Tartaria.
1626 Bacon Sylua Syluarum §49 Rice is in Turky..most fed upon.
1719 W. Wood Surv. Trade (ed. 2) 180 The Turkey Company..have Factories and Houses in Turkey.
The citations in chronological order.
1366?a In his honde holdyng Turke bowes two, fulle wel deuysed had he.
1369c Ne sende men in-to Walakye,..To Alisaundre, ne in-to Turkye.
1400a Thre thousand Turkes com at the last, With bowe Turkeys, and arweblaste.
1400a Thre thousand Turkes com, with bost, Betwen Jakes and his hoost.
1400c (1839) [Rodes] was wont to be clept Collos; and so callen it the Turkes ȝit.
1400c . (1839) But a gret man þat he [the Greek Emperour] ... the Turkes ...
1480c (1896) þe turkis thru ...
1482? ... and counseyled in Constantynople among the turke and his counseyle.
1482? The turkes..saydyn that theyr lord the gret Turke ...
1485c . (1882) Þer is þe lond of torke.
1490 (1885) ... goddys enmyes, as ben turques & sarrasins.
1503 He said that the Grete Turke feared not the pope.
1513▸?a (1998)Me thocht a Turk of Tartary Come...
1513▸?a (1998) A fedrem on he tuke..in Turky for to fle.
1517 (1884) We war receyvyd by the Turkys and Sarrasyns.
1534 (1905) , iij quarteris of taphety turke, price of the ...
1536 Thes Sothorne turkes pervertyng ...
1545 After them the Turkes hauing an other name,...
1547 (1914) Hedpeces to the same, turkes ...
1548 [He] hated hym more then a Panym, or a Turke.
1549 all Jewes, Turkes, Infidels, ...
1561 (1890) .,..a scourge to the Turke.
1563 (1859)..., the great Turke.
1569 (1717),..., the shotinge at the Turke.
1570 Turkie, Tartaria.
1578 Was neuer any Impe so wicked & barbarous, any Turke so vile and brutish.
1581 Christians of al sortes,..and al other vnder the Turke.
1592? What say these prisoners, will they turne Turke, or no?
1598 ... children afraid,..a turke, or a bug-beare.
1599 (1893) My drugaman..was a Turke, but a ...
1603 ... as hath the Grand Turke in his Seraille?
1604 If the rest of my fortunes turne Turk with me.
1608 A Turk can be hit at twelve score pricks in Finsbury Fields.
1608 In woman out paromord the Turke.
1615 No Iew can turne Turke, untill he first turne Christian.
1615 For thus they now call the Great Turke,..The Souldan ...
1616 ... and Turkes of ten pence, to fill ...
1616 a(1623) The Turke that two and fiftie Kingdomes hath,...
1623 The best Stallion to beget horses..., or the Turke.
1626 Rice is in Turky..most fed upon.
1629 The Souldier, he will turne Turke vpon point...
1631 ..., and then shootes at a Turke, as boyes doe.
1632 [He] turnd Turke, and was circumcised.
1634 (1864) ... in those parts by Turks and pirates.
1638 He forthwith unsheathd his trusty Turke, ...
1647 No Jew is capable to be a Turk but ...
1658 a (1680)To redeem so many of them from the bondage of the Turks.
1660c (1955) One Turke..he much favourd, ...
1673 The Turcs at our being there [i.e. at Vienna] ...
1687 Many are perswaded, that when a Jew turns Turk, ...
1688 (1905) These are called Turks knives because they turne ...
1689 (1868) ... the great Turk.
1695 ... a Heathen at Japan, and a Turk at Constantinople.
1696 Turk, ... who is also call'd the Great Turk.
1699 Turk, any cruel hard-hearted Man.
1708 To be sold,..a true Turk Stalion about 15 Hands high.
1719 The Turkey Company..have Factories and Houses in Turkey.
1725 A divine distributes [mankind] into Turks, Heathens, Jews, or Christians.
1731 ... the Captains of the Grand Turks Men of War.
1734 ... Bear, like the Turk, no brother near the throne.
1737 He offered to turn Turk, if they would spare him.
1760 Turk's Turban, Ranunculus.
1791a (1796) The best parlour..was furnished with Turk-worked chairs.
1801 The debt which England ... had contracted with the Turks for ...
Forms:
Also ME–16 Turke, ME turque, 16 Turc; 18 Toork (sense 1).
Etymology:
= French Turc, feminine turque, Italian Turco, Turca, Spanish Turco, Turca, Portuguese Turco, Turca, medieval Latin Turcus,Turca, Byzantine Greek Τοῦρκος, Persian (and Arabic) turk.
A national name of unknown origin. Possibly the same as the Chinese equivalent Tu-kin, applied to a division of the Hiong-nu (identified by Deguigne with the Huns), who occupied the country south of the Altaian mountains c177_ b.c. (In Persian dicts. turk is explained as ‘A Turk, a beautiful youth, a barbarian, a robber’, but the last three definitions are only applications of the national name, not explanations of its original meaning.)
1. Ethnol. Chiefly in pl. Turks.
The name of a numerous and widely spread family of the human race, occupying from prehistoric times large parts of central Asia, and speaking a language and dialects belonging to the Turkic (Turkic adj.) branch of the Ural-Altaic (Finno-Tartar, or Turanian) linguistic family (a primary family of co-ordinate rank with the Indo-European or Aryan, and Semitic).
Within this linguistic family the Turks are usually held to stand between the Ugrians and Mongols, having closest relationship to the latter group. The form Toork or Tourk (after Persian) has been used by some (esp. in India) in this wide sense.
From their original home in central Asia, chiefly from Turkestan, hordes of Turks at various times assailed and conquered other lands. Of these, the best known in the West were those calling themselves, after famous leaders, Seljúk and Osmānli respectively. The former overthrew the Abbasides, or first Muslim caliphs of Baghdad, and founded the Seljúk dynasty in their room; the latter, after embracing Islām, and receiving much Persian and Arab culture, arose on the ruins of the Seljúk empire in a.d._1300 and became the ancestors of the Osmanli or Ottoman Turks in Asia and south-eastern Europe.
Probably the name Turk appears in English first in connection with the Third Crusade, 1187–92. The Turks of that date were Seljúks, not Ottomans. Saladin, the antagonist of Richard I, was a Kurd, originally in the service of the Seljúks. In this wide sense, the name is of comparatively late use in English and the European languages generally, the Turks of central Asia being unknown in Western Europe.
▸?a1513 W. Dunbar Ballat Abbot of Tungland in Poems (1998) 56 Me thocht a Turk of Tartary Come throw the boundis of Barbary And lay forloppin in Lumbardy.
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus i. f. 36, After them the Turkes hauing an other name, but yet the same people, borne in Scythia.
2 a. A native or inhabitant of Turkey; (formerly) a member of the dominant race of the Ottoman empire; sometimes extended to any subject of the Grand Turk or Turkish Sultan, but usually restricted to Muslim people; (in earlier times) a Seljúk; (from 1300) an Osmanli or Ottoman; a person who was, or considered himself, a descendant of the Osmanlis or other Turks. In pl._ the Turks, the Turkish people; (also) the Ottomans (nowhist.).
a1400 Coer de L. 5003 Thre thousand Turkes com, with bost, Betwen Jakes and his hoost.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) iv. 26 [Rodes] was wont to be clept Collos; and so callen it the Turkes ȝit.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) xiii. 145 But a gret man þat he [the Greek Emperour] sente for to kepe the contree aȝenst the Turkes vsurped the lond & helde it to him self, & cleped him Emperour of Trapazond.
c1480 (▸a1400) St. Nicholas 591 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 498 Lang tyme eftyre with gret were, þe turkis thru iniquite distroyt þe towne of myrre [= Myra].
1490 Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xiv. 348 We shall werre styll on goddys enmyes, as ben turques & sarrasins.
1517 R. Torkington Oldest Diarie Eng. Trav. (1884) 23 We war receyvyd by the Turkys and Sarrasyns.
1547 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 11 Hedpeces to the same, turkes ffasshyon of blewe Red & yolowe sarcenet.
1599 T. Dallam Diary in Early Voy. Levant (1893) i. 79 My drugaman..was a Turke, but a Cornish man borne.
1634 Cal. State Papers, Domest. 31 May (1864) 44 Complaints out of the west country of divers outrages lately committed in those parts by Turks and pirates.
a1658 J. Durham Expos. Rev. (1680) v. ii. 275 To redeem so many of them from the bondage of the Turks.
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1644 (1955) II. 165 One Turke..he much favourd, who waited on him in his Cabine.
1673 J. Ray Observ. Journey Low-countries 140 The Turcs at our being there [i.e. at Vienna] having taken Neuhausel.
1696 E. Phillips New World of Words (ed. 5) Turk, a Subject of the Grand Signiors, who is also call'd the Great Turk.
b. the Turk n. Turkish people regarded collectively; the Turkish power. Also: the Turkish Sultan, the Grand Turk (see sense 2c) (hist.). Now rare.
?1482 J. Kay tr. G. Caoursin Siege of Rhodes ⁋3 In what tyme that thees thynges were thought and counseyled in Constantynople among the turke and his counseyle.
1561 New Cal. 17 Jan. in Prayer-bk. Q. Eliz. (1890) 194 The good Prince Scanderbeg,..a scourge to the Turke.
1581 W. Allen Apol. Two Eng. Colleges f. 18v, Christians of al sortes,..and al other vnder the Turke.
1608 Shakespeare King Lear xi. 83 In woman out paromord the Turke.
a1616 Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iv. vii. 73 The Turke that two and fiftie Kingdomes hath, Writes not so tedious a Stile as this.
1734 Pope Epist. to Arbuthnot 198 Should such a man, too fond to rule alone, Bear, like the Turk, no brother near the throne.
c. the Grand (also Great) Turk , the Ottoman Sultan. Cf. the Great Khan at khan n.1 a,the Great Mogul at Mogul n.1 1a. Now hist.
?1482 J. Kay tr. G. Caoursin Siege of Rhodes ⁋6 The turkes..saydyn that theyr lord the gret Turke was dede.
1503 Lett. Rich. III & Hen. VII (Rolls) I. 210 He said that the Grete Turke feared not the pope.
1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Place of Prayer ii, in J. Griffiths Two Bks. Homilies (1859) ii. 348 The Enemie of our Lord Christ, the great Turke.
1603 J. Florio tr. Montaigne Ess. i. xlii. 143 What longing-lust would not be alaide, to see three hundred women at his dispose and pleasure, as hath the Grand Turke in his Seraille?
1615 W. Bedwell Arabian Trudgman in tr. Mohammedis Imposturæ sig. N4, at Sultan, For thus they now call the Great Turke,..The Souldan of Stamboli.
1689 Charges against Andros & Others in Andros Tracts (1868) I. 165 They were as Arbitrary as the great Turk.
1731 J. Pitts True & Faithful Acct. Mahometans (ed. 3) viii. 175 Where he became Capatan-Bashaw, i.e. the Head of the Captains of the Grand Turks Men of War.
†d. More widely: a Saracen. Obs.
a1400 Coer de L. 4971 Thre thousand Turkes com at the last, With bowe Turkeys, and arweblaste.
e. Young Turks: see Young Turk n. 2.
3 a. Often used as: = Muslim.From c1300 the Turks were to Christian nations the typical Muslim power.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxxiii, [He] hated hym more then a Panym, or a Turke.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Celebr. Holye Communion f. lii, Haue mercy vpon all Jewes, Turkes, Infidels, and heretikes.
1647 J. Howell New Vol. of Lett. 30 No Jew is capable to be a Turk but he must be first an Abdvla a Christian.
1695 J. Collier Misc. upon Moral Subj. 136 He is a Christian at Rome, a Heathen at Japan, and a Turk at Constantinople.
1725 I. Watts Logick i. vi. §10 A divine distributes [mankind] into Turks, Heathens, Jews, or Christians.
b. In to turn Turk , become Turk, and similar phrases. (Also in senses 2, 4.)
?1592 Trag. Solyman & Perseda sig. F1v, What say these prisoners, will they turne Turke, or no?
1604 Shakespeare Hamlet iii. ii. 264 If the rest of my fortunes turne Turk with me.
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey i. 54 No Iew can turne Turke, untill he first turne Christian.
1629 J. Mabbe tr. C. de Fonseca Deuout Contempl. 403 The Souldier, he will turne Turke vpon point either of profit, or of honor.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. iv. 141 [He] turnd Turke, and was circumcised.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 42 Many are perswaded, that when a Jew turns Turk, he must first become Christian, which is very false.
1737 S. Berington Mem. G. di Lucca 304 He offered to turn Turk, if they would spare him.
4. In extended use.
a. (Applied to) any one having qualities historically attributed to Turks; a cruel, rigorous, or tyrannical person; any one behaving barbarically or savagely. Also: a bad-tempered or unmanageable person; a man who treats his wife harshly. Often (with alliterative qualification) terrible Turk; (also) Young Turk n. 1, an unmanageable or violent child or youth.little Turk: see little adj., pron., n., and adv. Special uses 4.
1536 Exhort. North 56 in F. J. Furnivall Ballads from MSS I. 306 Thes Sothorne turkes pervertyng owre lawe.
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 5v, Was neuer any Impe so wicked & barbarous, any Turke so vile and brutish.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Turk, any cruel hard-hearted Man.
†5. a. A human figure at which to practise shooting. Obs.
1569 T. Hearne in W. Camden Hist. Eliz. (1717) Pref. p.xxix, The shotinge with the brode arrowe, the shotinge at the twelve skore prick, the shotinge at the Turke.
1608 Pennyless Parl. in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) III. 76 A Turk can be hit at twelve score pricks in Finsbury Fields.
1616 Manifest. Abp. Spalato's Motives App. iii. 7 All the rest were but painted posts, and Turkes of ten pence, to fill and adorne the shooting-field.
1631 J. Burges Answer Reioyned 182 The Replier hath set vp a man of cloutes of his owne making, and then shootes at a Turke, as boyes doe.
b. A hideous image to frighten children; a bugbear. Obs.
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Manduco, a disguised or vglie picture vsed in shewes to make children afraid,..a turke, or a bug-beare.
6 a. A Turkish or Turkey horse.
1623 G. Markham Cheape & Good Husb. (ed. 3) i. iii. 42 The best Stallion to beget horses for the warres is the Courser, the Iennet, or the Turke.
1831 W. Youatt Horse iii. 29 Charles II. sent his master of the horse to the Levant, to purchase brood mares and stallions. These were principally Barbs and Turks.
†b. A Turkish sword or sabre, a scimitar. Obs.
1638 N. Whiting Albino & Bellama 108 He forthwith unsheathd his trusty Turke, Cald forth that blood which in his veines did lurk.
Compounds
C1. General attrib.: = Turkish adj.
?a1366 Romaunt Rose 923 In his honde holdyng Turke bowes two, fulle wel deuysed had he.
1534 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1905) VI. 193, iij quarteris of taphety turke, price of the elne xiiij s.
1708 London Gaz. No. 4435/4 To be sold,..a true Turk Stalion about 15 Hands high.
C2. Instrumental, as Turk-ruled, Turk-worked (adjs.), etc.
a1791 F. Grose Grumbler in Olio (1796) xi. 44 The best parlour..was furnished with Turk-worked chairs.
C3. In genitive.
a. In general compounds, as Turk's knife.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iii. xiv. 3/2 These are called Turks knives because they turne vpward in the back towards the end, or point of the blade.
b. In the names of plants, as Turk's turban. See also Turk's cap n., Turk's head n. 1.
1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 319/1 Turk's Turban, Ranunculus.
1. The land of the Turks, ‘Turkey in Asia’ and ‘Turkey in Europe’; formerly sometimes Turkestan or Tartary.
c1369 Chaucer Bk. Duchesse 1026 Ne sende men in-to Walakye,..To Alisaundre, ne in-to Turkye.
c1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 1435 Þer is þe lond of torke.
▸?a1513 W. Dunbar Ballat Abbot of Tungland in Poems (1998) 58 A fedrem on he tuke..in Turky for to fle.
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Hiiiv/2, Turkie, Tartaria.
1626 Bacon Sylua Syluarum §49 Rice is in Turky..most fed upon.
1719 W. Wood Surv. Trade (ed. 2) 180 The Turkey Company..have Factories and Houses in Turkey.
The citations in chronological order.
1366?a In his honde holdyng Turke bowes two, fulle wel deuysed had he.
1369c Ne sende men in-to Walakye,..To Alisaundre, ne in-to Turkye.
1400a Thre thousand Turkes com at the last, With bowe Turkeys, and arweblaste.
1400a Thre thousand Turkes com, with bost, Betwen Jakes and his hoost.
1400c (1839) [Rodes] was wont to be clept Collos; and so callen it the Turkes ȝit.
1400c . (1839) But a gret man þat he [the Greek Emperour] ... the Turkes ...
1480c (1896) þe turkis thru ...
1482? ... and counseyled in Constantynople among the turke and his counseyle.
1482? The turkes..saydyn that theyr lord the gret Turke ...
1485c . (1882) Þer is þe lond of torke.
1490 (1885) ... goddys enmyes, as ben turques & sarrasins.
1503 He said that the Grete Turke feared not the pope.
1513▸?a (1998)Me thocht a Turk of Tartary Come...
1513▸?a (1998) A fedrem on he tuke..in Turky for to fle.
1517 (1884) We war receyvyd by the Turkys and Sarrasyns.
1534 (1905) , iij quarteris of taphety turke, price of the ...
1536 Thes Sothorne turkes pervertyng ...
1545 After them the Turkes hauing an other name,...
1547 (1914) Hedpeces to the same, turkes ...
1548 [He] hated hym more then a Panym, or a Turke.
1549 all Jewes, Turkes, Infidels, ...
1561 (1890) .,..a scourge to the Turke.
1563 (1859)..., the great Turke.
1569 (1717),..., the shotinge at the Turke.
1570 Turkie, Tartaria.
1578 Was neuer any Impe so wicked & barbarous, any Turke so vile and brutish.
1581 Christians of al sortes,..and al other vnder the Turke.
1592? What say these prisoners, will they turne Turke, or no?
1598 ... children afraid,..a turke, or a bug-beare.
1599 (1893) My drugaman..was a Turke, but a ...
1603 ... as hath the Grand Turke in his Seraille?
1604 If the rest of my fortunes turne Turk with me.
1608 A Turk can be hit at twelve score pricks in Finsbury Fields.
1608 In woman out paromord the Turke.
1615 No Iew can turne Turke, untill he first turne Christian.
1615 For thus they now call the Great Turke,..The Souldan ...
1616 ... and Turkes of ten pence, to fill ...
1616 a(1623) The Turke that two and fiftie Kingdomes hath,...
1623 The best Stallion to beget horses..., or the Turke.
1626 Rice is in Turky..most fed upon.
1629 The Souldier, he will turne Turke vpon point...
1631 ..., and then shootes at a Turke, as boyes doe.
1632 [He] turnd Turke, and was circumcised.
1634 (1864) ... in those parts by Turks and pirates.
1638 He forthwith unsheathd his trusty Turke, ...
1647 No Jew is capable to be a Turk but ...
1658 a (1680)To redeem so many of them from the bondage of the Turks.
1660c (1955) One Turke..he much favourd, ...
1673 The Turcs at our being there [i.e. at Vienna] ...
1687 Many are perswaded, that when a Jew turns Turk, ...
1688 (1905) These are called Turks knives because they turne ...
1689 (1868) ... the great Turk.
1695 ... a Heathen at Japan, and a Turk at Constantinople.
1696 Turk, ... who is also call'd the Great Turk.
1699 Turk, any cruel hard-hearted Man.
1708 To be sold,..a true Turk Stalion about 15 Hands high.
1719 The Turkey Company..have Factories and Houses in Turkey.
1725 A divine distributes [mankind] into Turks, Heathens, Jews, or Christians.
1731 ... the Captains of the Grand Turks Men of War.
1734 ... Bear, like the Turk, no brother near the throne.
1737 He offered to turn Turk, if they would spare him.
1760 Turk's Turban, Ranunculus.
1791a (1796) The best parlour..was furnished with Turk-worked chairs.
1801 The debt which England ... had contracted with the Turks for ...
