Giaour or Gawur or Gavour (; , ; from Ottoman Turkish and ; ; ; ; ; /; ) meaning 'infidel', is a slur used mostly in the lands of the former Ottoman Empire for non-Muslims or, more particularly, Christians in the Balkans.
Terminology The terms , , and (the last meaning 'Rum millet') were commonly used in defters (tax registries) for Orthodox Christians, usually without ethnic distinction. Christian ethnic groups in the Ottoman Balkans included Greeks (), Bulgarians (), Serbs (), Albanians () and Vlachs (), among others.
The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica described the term as follows:
During the Tanzimat (1839–1876) era, a prohibited the use of the term by Muslims with reference to non-Muslims to prevent problems occurring in social relationships.
European cultural references
Giaour is the name given to the evil monster of a man in the tale Vathek, written by William Beckford in French in 1782 and translated into English soon after. The spelling Giaour appears in the French as well as in the English translation. In 1813 Lord Byron published his poem The Giaour: A Fragment of a Turkish Tale, whose themes revolve around the ideas of love, death, and afterlife in Western Europe and the Ottoman Empire. Le Giaour, an 1832 painting by Ary Scheffer, oil on canvas, "Musée de la Vie romantique", Hôtel Scheffer-Renan, Paris. Sonnet XL of Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning contains these lines:
Musselmans and GiaoursThrow kerchiefs at a smile, and have no ruthFor any weeping.
See also
Xenophobia and discrimination in Turkey Gabr, Persian term, from which "Giaour" is derived Kafir, Arabic equivalent Ajam Dhimmi Barbarian Farang Frangistan Rum (endonym) Rumelia Rayah Guiri is Spanish slang for a foreign tourist. According to Juan Goytisolo, it is derived from Turkish gâvur.Pesquisas en la obra tardía de Juan Goytisolo, page 66, Volumen 33 de Foro hispánico, , Brigitte Adriaensen, Marco Kunz, Rodopi, 2009, , . Quotes Estambul otomano, page 62, Juan Goytisolo, 1989, Barcelona, Planeta. Epithets, exonyms, and other names for Muslim groups in the Ottoman Balkans: Arnaut Turco-Albanian Çıtak Vallahades Muslims (ethnic group) Turk (term for Muslims)
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