Calling an Ottoman elite a Turk was an insult meaning ignorant peasant

Evidence

The word “Turk” was indeed used, but in much the same way as “fellah” is used in modern Arabic—to denote the ignorant peasant—and its application to the Ottoman gentleman of Istanbul would have been an insult. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 2010

Categorization

• CANDY: Great elevator fact: an entire modern nation’s name was originally a slur for ‘ignorant peasant’ before the nation adopted and reclaimed it.