Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

devshirme

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
de-vshirme
IPA
18
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Systematic collection of non-Muslim boys or young men from rural Christian populations of the Balkans, practiced by Ottomans; the boys were taken to Istanbul, converted to Islam and educated for military profession or religious disciplines.

Uncountable

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish دیوشیرمه (devşirme, literally “collection, gathering”) (Turkish devşirme).

Word Breakdown

  • Root: دیوشیرمه

Usage

Inflected Forms

devshirmeh (alternative)

Phrases

blood tax iç oğlan

Frequently Paired Words

blood tax iç oğlan janissary

Questions

What does devshirme mean?
Systematic collection of non-Muslim boys or young men from rural Christian populations of the Balkans, practiced by Ottomans; the boys were taken to Istanbul, converted to Islam and educated for military profession or religious disciplines.
Where does devshirme come from?
Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish دیوشیرمه (devşirme, literally “collection, gathering”) (Turkish devşirme).

How to pronounce devshirme

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “devshirme”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “devshirme”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “devshirme” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.