Dey (?), n. [See Dairy.] A
servant who has charge of the dairy; a dairymaid. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
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.