Mameluke

UK: /ˈmæməˌluːk/ US: (mam′ə lo̅o̅k′)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

Mam•e•luke  (mam′ə lo̅o̅k′), n. 

1. World History a member of a military class, originally composed of slaves, that seized control of the Egyptian sultanate in 1250, ruled until 1517, and remained powerful until massacred or dispersed by Mehemet Ali in 1811.
2. World History (l.c.) (in Muslim countries) a slave.

• Arabic mamlūk literally, slave, noun, nominal use of past participle of malaka to possess
• 1505–15

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Mameluke, Mamaluke / ˈmæməˌluːk/Mamluk / ˈmæmluːk/ noun

1. a member of a military class, originally of enslaved Turks, ruling in Egypt from about 1250 to 1517 and remaining powerful until crushed in 1811
2. (in Muslim countries) a slave

Etymology: 16th Century: via French, ultimately from Arabic mamlūk slave, from malaka to possess