n. Used formerly as a title for military and civil officers, especially in Turkey and northern Africa. [Ottoman Turkish paşa (a title originally bestowed on a son of Osman I who did not succeed his father as sultan and on this son's descendants), perhaps ultimately from Middle Persian waččag, child (of unknown origin; for the semantic development of the Ottoman title, compare English childe and Spanish infante; see INFANTE), or from alteration of Persian pādshāh; see PADISHAH.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.