Many of us have heard the word "efendi". What this expression means, we hardly know. Meanwhile, this term is of foreign origin, a few centuries ago it meant belonging to a high military rank. Moreover, this was the name given to people representing a high social class.
What was this rank and what is the country of origin of the expression? Let's try to understand this issue.
Interpretation of expression
Philologists argue which language is the creator of this word. There are versions that this word is ancient Persian. There are hypotheses that this is an ancient Arabic word. There is an idea that this expression refers to the proto-Turkish language. In any case, it is clear: this term is of Eastern origin and means "lord or master."
Who is the Efendi called, what does this title mean?
So in the 15th century in the countries of the East they called rich military leaders, spiritual leaders, rulers, members of the Sultan's family and so on. It was a kind of expression of respect for a high person. Usually this word itself was placed immediately after the name,for example, Akhmat-effendi.
The meaning of the expression in the Ottoman Empire
In the Ottoman Empire, this expression gradually began to acquire nationwide features. Who was called efendi in Turkey, what does this word mean from the 17th century?
So, in Turkey, officers, as well as everyone who was literate, could be called such a title. Moreover, it was possible to address both men and women in this way (however, it should be remembered that women with a high social status could be called this expression).
Literacy itself was seen as a great virtue possessed by a person, which is why he could call himself effendi, which means "a literate person." You can learn about this from ancient Turkish manuscripts.
Modern reading of this term
In the last hundred years, life in Turkey has changed significantly. In this regard, back in 1934, the military rank of "effendi" was abolished, but this expression has not lost its meaning.
If we ask ourselves what "efendi" means in Turkish today, we can learn that it is now a form of polite address to strangers. We are talking about a kind of analogue of similar polite forms of address that have developed in other languages, for example, in English - sir, in Polish - pan and pani, in Italian - señor, señora, and so on.
There is such an expression in the language of the peoples of the North Caucasus. However, here effendi is an address to a Muslim priest.
