'Deys' definitions:
Definition of 'Deys'
From: GCIDE
- Dey \Dey\, n.; pl. Deys. [Turk. d[=a]i, 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]