9 September 2014

janissary

[jan-uh-ser-ee]

noun, plural janissaries.

1. (often initial capital letter) a member of an elite military unit of the Turkish army organized in the 14th century and abolished in 1826 after it revolted against the Sultan.
2. (often initial capital letter) any soldier in the Turkish army.
3. a member of any group of loyal guards, soldiers, or supporters.

Also, janizary [jan-uh-zer-ee]
Origin
French Italian Turkish
1520-1530; < French janissaire < Italian gian (n) izzero < Turkish yeniçeri, equivalent to yeni new + çeri soldiery, militia
Dictionary.com

Today’s aphorism

There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true. The other is to refuse to accept what is true.

– Soren Kierkegaard

On this day

9 September 1543 – Mary Stuart crowned ‘Queen of Scots’. She was 9 months old.

9 September 1828 – birth of Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer, (‘Anna Karenina‘, ‘War and Peace‘). Died 20 November 1910.

9 September 1890 – birth of Harlan Sanders who eventually becomes a Colonel and chickens throughout Kentucky, and ultimately the rest of the world, are never the same again as he invents Kentucky Fried Chicken. Died 16 December 1980.

9 September 2004 – Australian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, bombed. 10 people killed.