Mameluke
Pronunciation: /ˈmamɪl(j)uːk/
The English word “Mameluke” has 3 meanings listed here.
noun
- A member of various military regimes in the Middle East established and run by freed white slave soldiers, mainly from the Eurasian steppe or the Caucasus; in particular, those who formed a ruling caste in Egypt from 1250 until 1812 and in Syria from 1260 until 1516.
- One who supports someone or something blindly or slavishly; specifically, one who supports the Roman Catholic Church in this manner.
- A slave (especially one who is a white European) in a Middle Eastern Muslim country.
Etymology
Borrowed from a European language such as Late Latin mameluc or Middle French mamelu, mameluch (modern French mameluk, mamelouk), borrowed from Arabic مَمْلُوك (mamlūk, “(adjective) owned, possessed; (noun) slave (especially a white slave)”), the passive participle of مَلَكَ (malaka, “to own, possess; to be the master”), from م ل ك (m l k, root relating to authority and possession). Doublet of…
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