What is "grand vizier"

Grand \Grand\ (gr[a^]nd), a. [Compar. Grander (gr[a^]nd"[~e]r); superl. Grandest.] [OE. grant, grount, OF. grant, F. grand, fr. L. grandis; perh. akin to gravis heavy, E. grave, a. Cf. Grandee.]

1. Of large size or extent; great; extensive; hence, relatively great; greatest; chief; principal; as, a grand mountain; a grand army; a grand mistake. ``Our grand foe, Satan.''
   --Milton.

   Making so bold . . . to unseal Their grand commission.
   --Shak.

2. Great in size, and fine or imposing in appearance or impression; illustrious, dignifled, or noble (said of persons); majestic, splendid, magnificent, or sublime (said of things); as, a grand monarch; a grand lord; a grand general; a grand view; a grand conception.

   They are the highest models of expression, the unapproached masters of the grand style.
   --M. Arnold.

3. Having higher rank or more dignity, size, or importance than other persons or things of the same name; as, a grand lodge; a grand vizier; a grand piano, etc.

4. Standing in the second or some more remote degree of parentage or descent; -- generalIy used in composition; as, grandfather, grandson, grandchild, etc.

   What cause Mov'd our grand parents, in that happy state, Favor'd of Heaven so highly, to fall off From their Creator.
   --Milton.

   Grand action, a pianoforte action, used in grand pianos, in which special devices are employed to obtain perfect action of the hammer in striking and leaving the string.

   Grand Army of the Republic, an organized voluntary association of men who served in the Union army or navy during the civil war in the United States. The order has chapters, called Posts, throughout the country.

   Grand paunch, a glutton or gourmand. [Obs.]
   --Holland.

   Grand pensionary. See under Pensionary.

   Grand piano (Mus.), a large piano, usually harp-shaped, in which the wires or strings are generally triplicated, increasing the power, and all the mechanism is introduced in the most effective manner, regardless of the size of the instrument.

   Grand relief (Sculp.), alto relievo.

   Grand Seignior. See under Seignior.

   Grand stand, the principal stand, or erection for spectators, at a, race course, etc.

   Grand vicar (Eccl.), a principal vicar; an ecclesiastical delegate in France.

   Grand vizier. See under Vizier.

   Syn: Magnificent; sublime; majestic; dignified; elevated; stately; august; pompous; lofty; eralted; noble.

   Usage: Grand, Magnificent, Sublime. Grand, in reference to objects of taste, is applied to that which expands the mind by a sense of vastness and majesty; magnificent is applied to anything which is imposing from its splendor; sublime describes that which is awful and elevating. A cataract is grand; a rich and varied landscape is magnificent; an overhanging precipice is sublime. ``Grandeur admits of degrees and modifications; but magnificence is that which has already reached the highest degree of superiority naturally belonging to the object in question.''
   --Crabb.

Vizier \Viz"ier\, n. [Ar. wez[=i]r, waz[=i]r, properly, a bearer of burdens, a porter, from wazara to bear a burden: cf. F. vizir, visir. Cf. Alguazil.] A councilor of state; a high executive officer in Turkey and other Oriental countries. [Written also visier, vizir, and vizer.]

Grand vizier, the chief minister of the Turkish empire; -- called also vizier-azem.

n. (context historical English) The greatest minister of a sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the sultan himself.

In the Ottoman Empire, the Grand Vizier was the prime minister of the Ottoman sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissible only by the sultan himself. He held the imperial seal and could convene all other viziers to attend to affairs of the state; the viziers in conference were called "Kubbealtı viziers" in reference to their meeting place, the Kubbealtı ('under the dome') in Topkapı Palace. His offices were located at the Sublime Porte.