bashi-bazouk
English
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bashi-bazouk¹
- /ˌbæʃibəˈzuːk/ UK
- /ˌbæʃibəˈzuk/ US
Rhymes with -uːk
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish باشی بوزوق (başıbozuk, “civilian; irregular soldier”, literally “broken head”) (whence modern Turkish başıbozuk; possibly alluding to the soldiers being effectively leaderless, or to them acting “crazy”), from باشی (possessive of باش (baş, “head”)) + بوزوق (bozuk, “broken; in poor condition”).
noun bashi-bazouks · bashibazouk · Bashi-Bazouk
- An irregular soldier of the Ottoman army, reputed to be brutal and undisciplined. The plundering habits of the Bashi-Bazouks have been blamed in bitter language by well-paid correspondents of our press, who forget that the Bashi-Bazouk wanted clothes, food, money—was a starving zealot to a cause which could not support him.
- One who does work outside regular employment; an irregular. Hard-working boys are these juvenile Bashi-Bazouks of the newspaper trade. And I am glad to observe, for the edification of social economists, with scarcely an exception, very honest boys.
Bashi-Bazouk²
noun Bashi-Bazouks
- Alternative letter-case form of bashi-bazouk The plundering habits of the Bashi-Bazouks have been blamed in bitter language by well-paid correspondents of our press, who forget that the Bashi-Bazouk wanted clothes, food, money—was a starving zealot to a cause which could not support him.
Translations
Every language
noun irregular soldier of the Ottoman army
| Español | basi-bozuk |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | バシ゠バズーク bashi-bazūku |
| 中文 | 巴什波祖克 bāshébōzǔkè |
| Português | bashi-bazouk, bashibazouk |
| Français | bachi-bouzouk |
| Deutsch | Başı Bozuk |
| Italiano | bashi-bazouk, bashibazouk, basci-buzuk |
| Ελληνικά | βασιβουζούκος vasivouzoúkos |
| Română | bașibuzuc |
| Русский | башибузу́к bašibuzúk |
| العربية | باشبوزق |
| עברית | באשי־בוזוק |
Talk about this word "bashi-bazouk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bashi-bazouk. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. bashi-bazouk. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bashi-bazouk "bashi-bazouk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bashi-bazouk.Cite this
@misc{bashi_bazouk_2026,
title = {bashi-bazouk},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bashi-bazouk},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
