Giaour

Giaour or Gawur (/ˈdʒaʊər/; Turkish: gâvur, Turkish pronunciation: ; from Persian: گور‎ gâvor an obsolete variant of modern گبر gaur, originally derived from Aramaic: ????‎, romanized: gaḇrā, lit. 'man; person'; Romanian: ghiaur; Albanian: kaur; Greek: γκιαούρης, romanized: gkiaoúris) meaning 'infidel', a slur, historically used in the Ottoman Empire for non-Muslims or more particularly Christians in the Balkans.Giaour (a Turkish adaptation of the Persian gdwr or gbr, an infidel), a word used by the Turks to describe all who are not Muslims, with especial reference to Christians. The word, first employed as a term of contempt and reproach, has become general and in many cases when was use was use as an insult. Giaour or Gawur (/ˈdʒaʊər/; Turkish: gâvur, Turkish pronunciation: ; from Persian: گور‎ gâvor an obsolete variant of modern گبر gaur, originally derived from Aramaic: ????‎, romanized: gaḇrā, lit. 'man; person'; Romanian: ghiaur; Albanian: kaur; Greek: γκιαούρης, romanized: gkiaoúris) meaning 'infidel', a slur, historically used in the Ottoman Empire for non-Muslims or more particularly Christians in the Balkans. The terms kafir, gawur or rum (the latter meaning 'Greek') were commonly used in defters (tax registries) for Orthodox Christians, usually without ethnic distinction. Christian ethnic groups in the Balkan territory of the Ottoman Empire included Greeks (rum), Bulgarians (bulgar), Serbs (surp), Albanians (arnavut), and Vlachs (eflak), among others. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica described the term as follows: During the Tanzimat (1839-1876), the use of the term by Muslims for non-Muslims was prohibited to prevent problems occurring in social relationships.