Word origins

• SiirtA province in southeastern Turkey.
• muezzinThe person who issues the call to prayer from one of the minarets of a mosque.
• TunceliA province in the Eastern Anatolia region, Turkey.
• AntakyaA city and district in southeastern Turkey, Hatay Province, the ancient Antioch.
• YozgatA province in the Central Anatolia region, Turkey.
• GiresunA province in northeastern Turkey, on the Black Sea coast.
• Abus gunAn early kind of howitzer developed by the Ottoman Empire.
• afalinaA Black Sea bottlenose dolphin; Tursiops truncatus.
• AfyonkarahisarA province in western Turkey.
• AkdamarA surname from Turkish.
• Aksaray MalaklisiA Turkish breed of large livestock guardian dog, from the Aksaray Province in Central Anatolia
• AlaşehirA city, municipality, and district of Manisa Province, Turkey.
• altilikA Turkish coin worth six piastres.
• ArdahanA province in northeastern Turkey, near the border with Georgia.
• ArdeşenA city in Rize Province, Turkey.
• ArnautAn inhabitant of Albania and neighboring mountainous regions, especially an Albanian serving in the Turkish army.
• AslanlarGalatasaray S.K.
• AtatürkA surname from Turkish, borne only by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey
• AyasolukFormer name of Selçuk: a town in İzmir Province, Turkey, near the ruins of ancient Ephesus.
• baglamaA seven-stringed musical instrument in various cultures around the eastern Mediterranean, with a pear-shaped body, and strings in double or sometimes triple courses.
• bairamEid, either of two Muslim festivals held after Ramadan.
• baksheeshIn the Middle East or southwest Asia: a bribe or tip.
• BalıkesirA province and metropolitan municipality in northwestern Turkey, with coasts on both the Mediterranean and the Sea of Marmara.
• barbotteA Canadian dice game akin to craps.
• BartınA province in northern Turkey.
• BaşbükA village in Turkey.
• BastikA surname from Turkish.
• BatumanA surname from Turkish.
• BayburtA province in northeastern Turkey.
• beshlikA silver coin of the Ottoman Empire.
• Birecika town of Şanlıurfa Province of Turkey, on the River Euphrates
• bozaa fermented drink made from wheat or millet
• bucakA subdistrict of a district within a Turkish province.
• BüşraA female given name from Turkish
• cacikA Turkish dish made from yoghurt, salt, olive oil, crushed garlic, chopped cucumber, and mint.
• ÇanakkaleA province of Turkey, along the Dardanelles.
• ÇankırıA province in northern Turkey.
• caramoussalA high-pooped Turkish ship.
• casabaA cultivar of the muskmelon (Cucumis melo), with bright yellow, wrinkled skin.
• cemeviAn Alevi place of worship or cultural center.
• chekmakA Turkish fabric of silk and cotton, with gold thread interwoven.
• chouseTo cheat, to trick.
• cigarette pastryA traditional Turkish dish consisting of a small pastry roll filled with feta cheese.
• cig kofteAn Anatolian dish made from raw ground meat (often lamb or beef), bulgur, onion, tomato paste, hot red pepper paste, and urfa biber, wrapped in lettuce.
• CimbomGalatasaray S.K.
• cizyeSynonym of jizya (“Islamic poll tax”).
• ÇoruhA river in Turkey flowing north through the Armenian Highland and emptying into the Black Sea in the Adjara region of Georgia.
• ÇorumA province in southwestern Turkey.
• DavutoğluA surname from Turkish.
• dedebabaA spiritual and religious leader of the Bektashi community.
• deep stateA large group of people, typically members of government agencies and the military, believed to have enduring political influence that is difficult for an administration that is voted into power to counter or dislodge.
• defterA type of tax register that was used in the Ottoman Empire.
• derebeyA feudal lord in the Ottoman Empire.
• dirhemA former small Turkish unit of weight, variously reckoned as 1.5–3.5 g (0.05–0.12 oz.).
• dolmusSynonym of shared taxi.
• dondurmaA Turkish mastic ice cream.
• donekA breed of fancy pigeon.
• doner kebabA Turkish dish in which meat (typically seasoned lamb or mutton, but alternatively chicken or perhaps beef) is grilled on a revolving vertical spit; when cooked, the meat is sliced off and served with fresh vegetables in pita or rolled in a piece of unleavened flatbread.
• DönmehA group of crypto-Jews in the Ottoman Empire who, to avoid imprisonment after declaring arrival of the doomsday messiah, converted publicly to Islam, but retained their Jewish beliefs in secret.
• dürümA traditional Turkish wrap (which is made from lavash or yufka flatbread) that is filled with typical doner kebab ingredients.
• DüzceA province in northwestern Turkey, on the Black Sea coast.
• ekmek kadayifA Turkish bread pudding dessert, also found in Greece.
• ElâzığA province in eastern Turkey.
• Eleme figA superior kind of fig (the fruit).
• ErdoğanA village in Ahırlı district.
• EskişehirA province and metropolitan municipality in interior northwestern Turkey.
• gangavaA small boat used for sponge fishing.
• GeliboluA city on the Gallipoli Pensinsula in Turkey.
• GöktaşA surname from Turkish.
• GöktürkA member of a powerful nomadic confederation in medieval Asia
• GümüşhaneA province in northeastern Turkey.
• guzeA roundlet of the sanguine tincture, which is blazoned without mention of the tincture.
• haremlikA harem.
• HemshinA member of a subethnic unit of the Armenian people, which in the past or present has been affiliated with the Hemşin district in the province of Rize, Turkey
• HüsnaA female given name from Turkish
• huzunA feeling of somber and listless melancholy caused by one's personal failings but which is felt communally as a universal and perhaps uplifting experience.
• IğdırA province in easternmost Turkey, with Azerbaijani and Kurdish majority.
• imam bayildiA Turkish dish of aubergine stuffed with onion, garlic, and tomatoes then simmered in olive oil.
• isoturfa biber (pepper variety)
• IstanbulluAn inhabitant of Istanbul, Turkey.
• İzmirA province and metropolitan municipality in western Anatolia in Turkey, along the Mediterranean coast.
• KahramanmaraşA province and metropolitan municipality in southern Turkey.
• KarabükA province in the Black Sea region, Turkey.
• kaymakA creamy dairy product, similar to clotted cream, made in the Balkans, Turkey, the Middle East, Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, and India. It is made from the milk of water buffalos in the East or of cows in the West.
• keffekilA kind of clay; meerschaum.
• kilijA kind of Turkish saber.
• KilisA province in southernmost Turkey.
• kisbetA pair of loose-fitting leather trousers worn by wrestlers in Turkish oil wrestling competitions.
• kisirA spicy salad dish from Turkey made from bulgur wheat, similar to tabbouleh.
• kis-kilimA kind of Turkey carpet woven by a girl as a gift for her future husband.
• Kizil IrmakThe longest river flowing entirely within Turkey.
• KırşehirA province in central Turkey.
• KocakA surname from Turkish.
• kolpikA type of traditional headgear worn in families of many Hasidic rabbis, by unmarried children on Shabbat and by rabbis on special occasions. It is made from brown fur (as opposed to a spodik, worn by Polish Hasidic dynasties, which is fashioned out of black fur).
• külliyeA Turkish mosque complex.
• kurabiyeA cookie, particularly a sweet cookie (originally Middle Eastern, now also Turkish, Greek and Albanian), often made with almonds or hazelnuts.
• kurusA subdivision of currency, equal to one hundredth of a Turkish lira.
• KütahyaA province in the Aegean region, Turkey.
• lahmacunA dish of Arab origin consisting of a round, thin piece of dough topped with minced meat (most commonly beef and lamb).
• lavtaA plucked string music instrument from Constantinople.