Dictionary

vizier en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /vɪˈzɪɹ/ (General-American)
• /vɪˈzɪə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈvɪzɪə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish وزیر (vezir) (Turkish vezir) (via French vizir), from Arabic وَزِير (wazīr, “helper, aide, minister”, literally “one who bears (the burden of office)”). Doublet of wazir.

Meanings

1. A high-ranking official or minister in an Islamic government, especially in the Ottoman Empire.
   • Today, Jews celebrate the holiday of Purim, a festival of revelry that commemorates their deliverance from an ancient genocidal plot. […] Traditionally, a scroll containing that book is read twice over the holiday, with listeners making noise to drown out the name of the story’s villain, Haman, a vizier who manipulated the Persian king into nearly eradicating the Jews. 2022 March 17, Yair Rosenberg, “The Anti-Semite on Your TV”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 16 Feb 2024:
2. The highest-ranking official or minister in ancient Egypt or Ebla; a chief administrator or a chancellor.
3. An ancient Mesopotamian civil servant, the sukkal (𒈛 (sukkal)).
   • Momus is not otherwise attested as Zeus’s advisor, but in name and function he matches Apsu’s vizier Mummu. 2025 December 12, Tom Hercules Davies, “Horses, Wheels, Languages: Greek, Mesopotamian and Indic Epic on the Eurasian Steppe”, in The Classical Quarterly, volume 75, number 1, page 3:
   • As Inanna prepares to descend she fastens the seven divine laws to her side, and as she walks toward the netherworld she speaks to her vizier, Ninshubur. 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 174:
4. A vicegerent, viceroy.
5. A fairy chess piece that can only be moved one space up, down, left or right.

Forms

Deriveds

vizierate · viziership · grand vizier · vizieress · vizierial

Descendants

visír · fisir

Relateds

wazir

Translations (72)

gl visir (high-ranking official) · et vesiir (high-ranking official) · ga visír (high-ranking official) · bn উজির (high-ranking official) · hi वजीर (high-ranking official) · nb vesir (high-ranking official) · ro vizir (high-ranking official) · ms wazir (high-ranking official) · ba вәзир (high-ranking official) · pl wezyr (high-ranking official) · lv viziris (high-ranking official) · sl vezir (high-ranking official) · bg вези́р (high-ranking official) · la vezirus (high-ranking official) · he וָזִיר (high-ranking official) · hu vezír (high-ranking official) · ug ۋەزىر (high-ranking official) · zdj waziri (high-ranking official) · it visir (high-ranking official) · uk візи́р (high-ranking official) · tg вазир (high-ranking official) · ur وَزِیر (high-ranking official) · tr vezir (high-ranking official) · ka ვეზირი (high-ranking official) · ps وزير (high-ranking official) · cs vezír (high-ranking official) · da vesir (high-ranking official) · hi वज़ीर (high-ranking official) · kk уәзір (high-ranking official) · mk везир (high-ranking official) · sk vezír (high-ranking official) · es visir (high-ranking official) · crh vezir (high-ranking official) · kum вазир (high-ranking official) · arz وزير (high-ranking official) · el βεζίρης (high-ranking official) · pt vizir (high-ranking official) · de Wesir (high-ranking official) · fa-ira وَزیر (high-ranking official) · cmn 維齊爾 /维齐尔 (high-ranking official) · tr sadrazam (high-ranking official) · sv vesir (high-ranking official) · swb waziri (high-ranking official) · cmn 大臣 (high-ranking official) · az nazir (high-ranking official) · nl vizier (high-ranking official) · ms bendahara (high-ranking official) · uz vazir (high-ranking official) · ky вазир (high-ranking official) · tk wezir (high-ranking official) · egy TA-t:Z1-A1 (high-ranking official) · ar وَزِير (high-ranking official) · sh vezir (high-ranking official) · az vəzir (high-ranking official) · tt вәзир (high-ranking official) · be візі́р (high-ranking official) · hy վեզիր (high-ranking official) · ru визи́рь (high-ranking official) · prs وَزِیر (high-ranking official) · sv visir (high-ranking official) · lez везир (high-ranking official) · eo veziro (high-ranking official) · ca visir (high-ranking official) · vi tể tướng (high-ranking official) · ja 宰相 (high-ranking official) · fr vizir (high-ranking official) · fi visiiri (high-ranking official) · gu વિઝિયર (high-ranking official) · ko 와지르 (high-ranking official) · ko 재상 (high-ranking official) · sq vezir (high-ranking official) · sh везир (high-ranking official)