şehit

Turkish

Etymology

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish شهید (şehid), from Arabic شَهِيد (šahīd).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃeˈhit/
• Hyphenation: şe‧hit

Noun

şehit (definite accusative şehidi, plural şehitler or şüheda)

1. martyr
2. a soldier, especially a Turkish one, killed in war
   • 1921, Mehmet Akif Ersoy, İstiklâl Marşı:

     Şüheda fışkıracak, toprağı sıksan şüheda!

     Martyrs would pour forth, all martyrs, should one simply clutch the earth!

   • (Can we date this quote?), “İzmir Marşı”:

     İzmir’in dağlarında oturdum kaldım /
     İzmir’in dağlarında oturdum kaldım /
     Şehit olanları deftere yazdım /
     Şehit olanları deftere yazdım

     I found myself sitting on the mountains of Izmir /
     I found myself sitting on the mountains of Izmir /
     I wrote down (the names of) the martyrs in a notebook /
     I wrote down (the names of) the martyrs in a notebook

Usage notes

• şehit is used more frequently in the second sense in modern Turkish. Special cultural significance is afforded to the war dead, particularly young conscripts, and military service has been considered a tradition for young men.

Declension

Inflection
Nominative	şehit
Definite accusative	şehidi
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	şehit	şehitler
Definite accusative	şehidi	şehitleri
Dative	şehide	şehitlere
Locative	şehitte	şehitlerde
Ablative	şehitten	şehitlerden
Genitive	şehidin	şehitlerin
Possessive forms Nominative Singular Plural 1st singular şehidim şehitlerim 2nd singular şehidin şehitlerin 3rd singular şehidi şehitleri 1st plural şehidimiz şehitlerimiz 2nd plural şehidiniz şehitleriniz 3rd plural şehitleri şehitleri Definite accusative Singular Plural 1st singular şehidimi şehitlerimi 2nd singular şehidini şehitlerini 3rd singular şehidini şehitlerini 1st plural şehidimizi şehitlerimizi 2nd plural şehidinizi şehitlerinizi 3rd plural şehitlerini şehitlerini Dative Singular Plural 1st singular şehidime şehitlerime 2nd singular şehidine şehitlerine 3rd singular şehidine şehitlerine 1st plural şehidimize şehitlerimize 2nd plural şehidinize şehitlerinize 3rd plural şehitlerine şehitlerine Locative Singular Plural 1st singular şehidimde şehitlerimde 2nd singular şehidinde şehitlerinde 3rd singular şehidinde şehitlerinde 1st plural şehidimizde şehitlerimizde 2nd plural şehidinizde şehitlerinizde 3rd plural şehitlerinde şehitlerinde Ablative Singular Plural 1st singular şehidimden şehitlerimden 2nd singular şehidinden şehitlerinden 3rd singular şehidinden şehitlerinden 1st plural şehidimizden şehitlerimizden 2nd plural şehidinizden şehitlerinizden 3rd plural şehitlerinden şehitlerinden Genitive Singular Plural 1st singular şehidimin şehitlerimin 2nd singular şehidinin şehitlerinin 3rd singular şehidinin şehitlerinin 1st plural şehidimizin şehitlerimizin 2nd plural şehidinizin şehitlerinizin 3rd plural şehitlerinin şehitlerinin

Related terms

• şahit
• şehadet

 

See also

• gazi

 

Further reading

• Turkish War of Independence