Word Study
phanariot
CIDE DICTIONARY
phanariot, n. [NGr. , fr. Phanar. See Phanar.].
One of the Greeks of Constantinople who after the Turkish conquest became powerful in clerical and other offices under Turkish patronage. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
phanariot, n. hist. a member of a class of Greek officials in Constantinople under the Ottoman Empire.
Etymology
mod.Gk phanariotes f. Phanar the part of the city where they lived f. Gk phanarion lighthouse (on the Golden Horn)
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