effendi

What it means

1. An educated or well-respected man in an eastern Mediterranean or Arab country; often used as a title of respect or courtesy in Turkey or a former Ottoman territory.

   The real problem of the Arabian population in Palestine is how to get rid of the economic domination and control by approximately 100 families of effendi who now own the land, keeping the fellaheen in obscurity and ignorance and subjecting them to merciless exploitation.

   1929 November 30, Judah L. Kaufman, quotee, “BRITISH LABOR HAILS PALESTINE WORKERS; […]”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Dec 2025

2. AfricahistoricalThe highest military rank attainable by African soldiers in several British and Imperial German colonial forces.

In a sentence

The real problem of the Arabian population in Palestine is how to get rid of the economic domination and control by approximately 100 families of effendi who now own the land, keeping the fellaheen in obscurity and ignorance and subjecting them to merciless exploitation.

1929 November 30, Judah L. Kaufman, quotee, “BRITISH LABOR HAILS PALESTINE WORKERS; […]”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Dec 2025

Where it comes from

1. Ancient Greekαὐθέντης“lord, master”
2. Greekαφέντη
3. Ottoman Turkishافندی
4. Englisheffendi

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish افندی (efendi), from Greek αφέντη (afénti), vocative of αφέντης (aféntis), from Ancient Greek αὐθέντης (authéntēs, “lord, master”). Doublet of authentic.