Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - janissary

 also janizary  noun  (plural -saries; also -zaries)  Etymology: Italian gianizzero, from Turkish yeniceri, from yeni new + ceri soldier  Date: 1529  1. often capitalized a soldier of an elite corps of Turkish troops organized in the 14th century and abolished in 1826  2. a member of a group of loyal or subservient troops, officials, or supporters