New (old) Words
Listed here are forgotten and newly acquired words discovered while reading
Death and the Dervish by, Meša Selimović
"A thousand times you regret for what you said, rarely for what you didn't say" - Meša Selimović These notes on Death and the Dervish are in celebration of Meša Selimović's birthday: April 26, 1910 Dervish (2001) + ENG subtitles
PUSILLANIMITY: lack of courage or determination; timidity.
ReplyDeleteSHEIKH: Muslim religious and spiritual leader.
ReplyDeleteTEKKE: complex of buildings housing a Muslim religious order
ReplyDeleteKASABA: provincial town in the Ottoman Empire
ReplyDeleteKADI: Muslim judge who interprets and administers the religious laws of Islam.
ReplyDeleteZURNA: a type of woodwind instrument
ReplyDeleteCALYX: the sepals of a flower, typically forming a whorl that encloses the petals and forms a protective layer around a flower in bud
ReplyDeleteMUDERRISES: high ranking teacher in a madrasah ( Islamic theological seminary)
ReplyDeleteYASIN: Chapter of the Koran that is recited as a prayer for the dying or deceased.
ReplyDeleteMULLAH: Ottoman scholar, versed in theology and Islamic law.
ReplyDeleteASKANCE: with an attitude or look of suspicion or disapproval.
ReplyDeleteSAGACITY: the quality of being wise or having good judgment.
ReplyDeleteABDEST: Muslim ritual of washing the face, arms, and legs, rinsing the mouth and nose, and rubbing the neck, ears, and top of the head before prayer.
ReplyDeleteINCIPIENT: in the first stage of existence; just beginning to exist or to come to notice.
ReplyDeleteMAHAL: section of a town or city
ReplyDeleteMILLET: a cereal grass (Panicum miliaceum) whose small grain is used for food in Europe and Asia
ReplyDeleteMUSELLIM: Chief executive officer in a district; also called mutesellim
ReplyDeleteBILIOUS: spiteful; bad-tempered.
ReplyDeleteSOFTA: student at an Islamic university
ReplyDeleteMINTAN: type of coat with long, narrow sleeves
ReplyDeleteALIM: learned man, Islamic religious scholar
ReplyDeleteMADRASAH: Islamic theological seminary
ReplyDeletePORTE: Title of the central office of the Ottoman government
ReplyDeleteJOCULAR: fond of or characterized by joking; humorous or playful.
ReplyDeleteVALI: civil governor of an Ottoman province
ReplyDeleteVIZIER: the sultan's deputy, governor of an Ottoman province
ReplyDeleteBAIRAM: One of the two most important Muslim religious holidays; the Ramadan Bairam (Eid-al-Fitr) follows after the months of fasting, Ramadan, and lasts for three days; the Kurban Bairam (Eid-al-Adha) comes two months and ten days after Ramadan; the holidays are set according to the lunar calendar.
ReplyDeletePALTRY: (of an amount) small or meager.
ReplyDeleteKIBLAH: direction (of Mecca) to which Muslims turn at prayer
ReplyDeleteMEKTEB: religious elementary school
ReplyDeleteHODJA: Muslim man of religion; teacher
ReplyDeleteEFFENDI: a title of respect or courtesy in Turkey.
ReplyDeleteSHERBET: cooling drink of the East, made of fruit juice and sweetened water
ReplyDeleteLIMPID: free of anything that darkens; completely clear.
ReplyDeleteFETTERS: a chain or manacle used to restrain a prisoner, typically placed around the ankles.
ReplyDeleteFAKIR: Muslim religious mendicant
ReplyDeleteCATKIN: a flowering spike of trees such as willow and hazel. Catkins are typically downy, pendulous, composed of flowers of a single sex, and wind-pollinated.
ReplyDeleteBULWARK: a person, institution, or principle that acts as a defense.
ReplyDeleteMUFTI: highest religious official in a province
ReplyDeleteDIZDAR: commander of a fortress
ReplyDeleteKAIMAKAM: high administrative official, vizier's deputy
ReplyDeleteLANGUOR: an oppressive stillness of the air.
ReplyDeleteENNUI: a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement.
ReplyDeleteYATAGHAN: a sword without a guard and typically with a double-curved blade, used in Muslim countries.
ReplyDeleteMUEZZIN: man who proclaims the hour of prayer
ReplyDeleteMAGNANIMOUS: generous or forgiving, especially toward a rival or less powerful person.
ReplyDeleteZAQQUM: mythical tree that grows in hell
ReplyDeleteMINARET: a tall slender tower, typically part of a mosque, with a balcony from which a muezzin calls Muslims to prayer.
ReplyDeleteWAKF: endowment that serves Islamic religious, cultural, educational, and humanitarian purposes
ReplyDeleteHADJI: title given to one who has made a pilgrimage to Mecca
ReplyDeleteCHIBOUK: long-stemmed tobacco pipe
ReplyDeleteMEYTASH: stone pedestal on which the shrouded body of a deceased person is placed during the funeral prayer
ReplyDeleteHOURI: nymph in the Muslim paradise
ReplyDeleteSHALWARS: wide trousers worn by men and women in the East
ReplyDeletePEDERAST: a man who desires or engages in sexual activity with a boy
ReplyDeleteGARRULOUS: given to excessive and often trivial or rambling talk: tiresomely talkative
ReplyDeleteMIRALAY: rank in the Ottoman military, equivalent to colonel
ReplyDeleteBEY: high-ranking official in provincial service; in Bosnia often a title of respect, regardless of the occupation of the person so addressed
ReplyDeleteSILLADAR: high official at the Porte, in charge of the arsenal
ReplyDeleteKATUL-FERMAN: death-warrant
ReplyDeletePIASTER: a monetary unit of several Middle Eastern countries, equal to one hundredth of a pound.
ReplyDeleteJANISSARY: soldier of an elite corps of Ottoman troops; janissaries were usually taken as small boys from Christian families and raised as Muslims
ReplyDeleteFILIAL: of or due from a son or daughter.
ReplyDeleteTIPCAT: a game in which a short piece of wood, tapered at both ends, is struck lightly at one end with a bat, causing the wood to spring into the air so that it can be batted for a distance.
ReplyDeleteDOLOROUS: full of, expressing, or causing pain or sorrow; grievous; mournful
ReplyDeleteCHADOR: woman's ankle-length coat, worn outside the house
ReplyDeleteDEFTERDAR: office of finance, accountant-general of a province, or secretary
ReplyDeleteVITIATE: to impair the quality of; make faulty; spoil.
ReplyDeleteIMARET: originally a hospice for accommodation of pilgrims and travelers; a free kitchen for the poor
ReplyDeleteSARAF: banker or money changer in the East
ReplyDeleteSHAIRA: Islamic religious law
ReplyDeletePADISHAH: Persian title, equivalent to "Great King" or "Emperor "; in Europe used to designate the Sultan of Turkey
ReplyDeleteALEM: copper crescent that decorates the top of a minaret
ReplyDeleteKUDRET-CLOCK: invisible clock whose bells announce important events
ReplyDelete