Pesh Merga
1
8.9
- noun
- Only mediation by U.S. officers prevented fighting from breaking out between the ISF and the Pesh Merga.
Examples
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A Pesh Merga barracks with men lying in army cots, two rows that extended along either wall as far as Mark could see.
Fiction book (1998) -
Fragments of memory, of being shaken awake and looking into the faces of two Pesh Merga guerrillas, the sky gray above them, the ground cold beneath him.
Fiction book (1998) -
"Do you know what Pesh Merga means?"
Fiction book (1998) -
The orderly, an aged, white-haired Pesh Merga, muttered something in Talzani's ear.
Fiction book (1998) -
The mullah took a Koran from his robe and read aloud from the holy book as his right hand went out to touch the forehead of the dying Pesh Merga.
Fiction book (1998) -
The Pesh Merga played a crucial role in defending their region against terrorist groups.
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Many Pesh Merga have been trained to handle various military strategies in combat situations.
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During the conflict, the Pesh Merga offered significant support to the local communities.
Synonyms
6
9.9
A member of the Kurdish armed forces in Iraqi Kurdistan
4
9.9
A Kurdish soldier who fights for a Kurdish state
Surface Forms
Morphology
Pesh + Merga
This is a foreign proper name/ethnonym (Kurdish peshmerga) whose constituent elements are not English words in the entry and so are not interpretable by a B1 learner. The label is lexicalized as the name of a specific military group and its meaning ('Kurdish guerrilla/military fighter') cannot be transparently derived from the parts, making it unpredictable without prior exposure or etymological knowledge.
Etymology
The name Pesh Merga comes from Kurdish words pesh meaning 'in front' and merga meaning 'death'. It paints a strong picture of fighters standing 'in front of death', so the term is used for Kurdish soldiers who bravely face danger.