Kizilbash

noun

Kiz·​il·​bash

¦kizəl¦bäsh

plural Kizilbash or Kizilbashes

1

: a Persianized Turk of a class devoted to business and professional pursuits in Afghanistan

also : a member of a community of Turkish or mixed-race colonists in Asia Minor

2

: a community of Kurdish Turks in eastern Turkey who are Christians and whose women refuse to veil their faces

3

: a nomadic people in the plains around Ankara, Karahisar, and Tokat

Word History

Etymology

Turkish kizilbaş, from kizil red + baş head

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