Dey (?), n. [See Dairy.]
A servant who has charge of the dairy; a dairymaid.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.
© Webster 1913.
Dey (?), n.; pl. Deys (#). [Turk. dai, 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.
© Webster 1913.