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Giaour

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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1910 New Catholic Dictionary
• Giaour
Encyclopedias
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Giaour
The Nuttall Encyclopedia
• Giaour

(a Turkish adaptation of the Pers. gawr or gor, an infidel), a word used by the Turks to describe all who are not Mahommedans, with especial reference to Christians. The word, first employed as a term of contempt and reproach, has become so general that in most cases no insult is intended in its use; similarly, in parts of China, the term "foreign devil" has become void of offence. A strict analogy to giaour is found in the Arabic kaffir, or unbeliever, which is so commonly in use as to have become the proper name of peoples and countries.