A historical title for a ruler or governor in the Ottoman Empire, particularly in North Africa, or a spelling variant of 'they' in some dialects.
From Turkish 'dey,' borrowed from Italian 'il Dey' or French. It was an official Ottoman title used for governors and military rulers in Algiers and other Barbary States during the 17th-19th centuries.
The Deys of Algiers were powerful rulers who controlled Mediterranean trade and piracy, yet the title is almost forgotten today—it's a linguistic ghost of a lost empire that once rivaled European powers.
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