Definition: Effendi is a Turkish word of Greek origins that has the same significance as titles of respect in the Western world such as "sir" or "lord."

Effendi is believed to be descended from the word aphetes, the Greek-Byzantine word used in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Middle Ages to refer to men of authority and education, who generally owned land.

Ottoman Turks adopted the word, which was increasingly used to denote men of the middle class, bureaucrats and functionaries of a certain authority, and government officials.

As Ottoman rule spread through the Middle East, so did the word's usage among Arabs. Ottomans are long gone. The word remains.