*dey*

n.; pl. Deys [ Turk. dāi, orig., a maternal uncle, then a friendly title formerly given to middle-aged or old people, especially among the Janizaries; and hence, in Algiers, consecrated at length to the commanding officer of that corps, who frequently became afterward pasha or regent of that province; hence the European misnomer of dey, as applied to the latter: cf. F. dey. ] The governor of Algiers; -- so called before the French conquest in 1830. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To die. [ Obs. ] Chaucer.

{ , n. & a. See Dainty. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The European yellow-hammer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A buffoon. See Goliard. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]