A Turkish official or messenger, especially one who served as an interpreter or intermediary in diplomatic or trade negotiations during the Ottoman period.
From Turkish 'çavuş' meaning sergeant or official messenger. The word entered European languages through contact with the Ottoman Empire during the 16th-18th centuries, particularly used by merchants and diplomats.
European merchants depended entirely on chiaus translators and fixers to navigate Ottoman markets and politics—so much so that being a skilled chiaus was one of the few paths to wealth for non-Muslims under Ottoman rule. The word shows how crucial these intermediaries were to early globalization!
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