An autonomous religious community within the Ottoman Empire, allowed to govern itself according to its own religious laws and customs.
From Arabic 'milla' meaning 'religion' or 'religious community,' adopted into Ottoman Turkish. The system formalized the legal autonomy of different religious groups within the empire.
The millet system was like having multiple legal systems operating simultaneously—a Greek Orthodox merchant, Armenian Catholic priest, and Jewish rabbi could all be governed by completely different laws while living on the same street in Istanbul!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.