effendi

noun

ef·​fen·​di e-ˈfen-dē How to pronounce effendi (audio)
ə-
: a man of property, authority, or education in an eastern Mediterranean country

Examples of effendi in a Sentence

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
And David, once dignified with the Turkish honorific effendi, would die in Auschwitz with much of his family in 1943. — The Economist, 2 Jan. 2020 Gyumri, Armenia / Effendi hasn’t spotted Satyrus effendi, a rare butterfly named for her father—Azerbaijani entomologist Rustam Effendi—in the wild. — National Geographic, 13 Jan. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Turkish efendi master, from Modern Greek aphentēs, alteration of Greek authentēs — more at authentic

First Known Use

1614, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of effendi was in 1614

Rhymes for effendi

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Browse Nearby Words

effeminize
effendi
efference
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Cite this Entry

“Effendi.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/effendi. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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