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young Turk. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
young Turk, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
young Turk in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
young Turk you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
Calque of French Jeune-Turc, from which also Turkish Jön Türk has been borrowed.
Pronunciation
Noun
young Turk (plural young Turks)
- (historical) From the late-19th to the early-20th century, a member of a movement that campaigned for reform of the Ottoman Empire.
- (idiomatic, by extension) A young person who agitates for political or other reform; a young person with a rebellious disposition.
1885, Horatio Alger, chapter 14, in Hector's Inheritance:"What! Roscoe?" inquired the principal.
"Yes."
"Is he in any mischief?"
"Mischief? I should say so! Why, he's a regular young Turk."
"A young Turk? I don't think I understand you, James."
"I mean, he's a young ruffian."
1966 September 30, “Jazz: Man with a Brain”, in Time:He arrives at a time when jazz's discontented Young Turks have disdainfully turned away from their audiences and gone off to explore the way-out.
Usage notes
- Often used in the plural form.
Translations
historical: member of a movement of the Ottoman Empire