1
a
: a provincial governor in the Ottoman Empire
b
: the former native ruler of Tunis or Tunisia
2
used as a courtesy title in Turkey and Egypt

Examples of bey in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Zog is for his grandfather, an Ottoman bey, or chieftain, who became prime minister of Albania in 1922 and upgraded himself to president three years later, then to king in 1928. Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bey.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Turkish, gentleman, chief

First Known Use

1537, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of bey was in 1537

Dictionary Entries Near bey

Cite this Entry

“Bey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bey. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

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