çelebi

== Turkish == === Etymology === Inherited from Ottoman Turkish چلبی (çelebi). Nominalization of the adjective çelebî (“respectful, mature”), from Çalap +‎ -î. Etymology of the nominal part Çalap (“God, Allah”) (obsolete in Modern Turkish, cf. Old Anatolian Turkish [script needed] (çalap, “Allah”)), is unclear beyond Old Anatolian Turkish stage. These possible etymologies include: According to Nişanyan, from "Old Turkish" (probably from an Oghuz-Turkmen dialect) *čalab (“a holy person, God”), from Classical Syriac ܨܠܝܒܐ (ṣəlīḇā, “cross”). He assumes this word must have been borrowed from Nestorian or Manicheist religious literature. Syriac form in his work, "ܨܠܒ" also has a secondary meaning; "(figuratively) God, rabbi". He refuses a relation with or a derivation from the native Turkish word yalap (“fire, flame”) (v. yalın (“flame”)). According to Erdal, ultimately from Arabic جَلَّاب (jallāb, “importer, import merchant”) with a semantic evolution of "merchant" > "rich" > "person in high social position". Tietze also gives Arabic جَلَّاب (jallāb), but with the meaning of "slave importer/merchant" instead. First attested as Old Anatolian Turkish چلب تڭری (Çalap Taŋrı) (tautological reduplicated form, cf. تڭری (taŋrı, “God”)). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /t͡ʃe.leˈbi/ === Noun === çelebi (definite accusative çelebiyi, plural çelebiler) an honorific title given to Bektashi Dedebabas and chief masters of the Mevlevi Order. an honorific title given to noble, elegant, educated and knowledgeable people, mostly in Islamic contexts. (rare) an honorific title given to Sultans. (obsolete) a kind and gentle person, a gentleman. (obsolete) a Christian merchant. ==== Declension ==== === Adjective === çelebi respectful, mature, well-behaved ==== Declension ==== === References === “çelebi”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu Ayverdi, İlhan (2010), “çelebi”, in Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük, a reviewed and expanded single-volume edition, Istanbul: Kubbealtı Neşriyatı