Editing Bey (section)

{{Short description|Honorific title in Turkic languages}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Redirect|Baig|the surname|Baig (surname)|other uses of Bey|Bey (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Uyghur_General_Khojis_(-1781),_governor_of_Turfan,_who_later_settled_in_Beijing._Painting_by_a_European_Jesuit_artist_at_the_Chinese_court_in_1775.png|thumb|[[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] General [[Khojis]] (d. 1781), bey of Turfan, who later settled in Beijing; painting by a European Jesuit artist at the Chinese court in 1775<ref>{{cite web |title=北京保利国际拍卖有限公司 |url=https://www.polypm.com.cn/news/detail/3934/14 |website=polypm.com.cn}}</ref>]]
'''Bey''',{{efn|{{langx|ota-Arab|بك|beğ}}, {{langx|tr|bey}}, {{langx|az|bəy}}, {{langx|tk|beg}}, {{langx|uz|бек}}, {{langx|kk|би/бек}}, {{langx|ky|бий/бек}}, {{langx|tt-Cyrl|бәк|translit=bäk}}, {{langx|cjs|пий/пек}}, {{langx|sq|beu/bej}}, {{langx|hr|beg}}, {{langx|sr|beg}}, {{langx|fa|بیگ|beyg}}/{{transliteration|fa|beig}}, {{langx|tg|бек}}, {{langx|ar|بيه, بك|bēh, bek}}}} also spelled as '''Baig''', '''Bayg''', '''Beigh''', '''Beig''', '''Bek''', '''Baeg, Begh,''' or '''Beg''', is a [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] title for a [[chieftain]], and a royal, [[aristocratic]] title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in the numerous Turkic kingdoms, emirates, sultanates and empires in [[Central Asia]], [[South Asia]], [[Southeast Europe]], and the [[Middle East]], such as the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]], [[Timurid Empire|Timurids]] or the various [[khanates]] and [[emirate]]s in [[Central Asia]] and the [[Eurasian Steppe]]. The feminine equivalent title was [[begum]]. The regions or provinces where "beys" ruled or which they administered were called ''[[Anatolian beyliks|beylik]]'', roughly meaning "governorate" or "region" (the equivalent of a [[county]], [[duchy]], [[grand duchy]] or [[principality]] in Europe, depending on the size and importance of the [[Anatolian beyliks|beylik]]). However the exact scope of power handed to the beys varied with each country, thus there was no clear-cut system, rigidly applied to all countries defining all the possible power and prestige that came along with the title.

Today, the word is still used formally as a social title for men, similar to the way the titles "[[sir]]" and "[[mister]]" are used in the English language. Additionally, it is widely used in the naming customs of [[Central Asia]], namely in countries such as [[Uzbekistan]], [[Kazakhstan]] and [[Kyrgyzstan]]. Notably, the ethnic designation of [[Uzbeks]] comes from the name of [[Öz Beg Khan]] of the [[Golden Horde]], being an example of the usage of this word in personal names and even names of whole ethnic groups. The general rule is that the honorific is used with first names and not with surnames or last names.