Dey

(dā), n. [Turk. dā, originally a maternal uncle, then a friendly title formerly given to middle aged or old people, especially among the Janizaries; and hence, in Algiers, consecrated at length to the commanding officer of that corps, who frequently became afterward pasha or regent of that province; hence the European misnomer of dey, as applied to the latter.] The governor of Algiers, so called before the French conquest.