dervish
See also: Dervish
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom Ottoman Turkish درویش (derviş), from Persian درویش (darvêš, “poor; Sufi mystic”), from Middle Persian dlgwš (driyōš, “poor, needy”).
Pronunciation
editNoun
editdervish (plural dervishes)
- (Islam) An itinerant Sufi mystic practicing voluntary poverty in devotion to God, and often engaging in ecstatic rituals.
- Synonym: fakir
- (historical) A citizen or inhabitant of Darawiish (circa 1895–1920 C.E.), an anti-colonial polity in modern Somalia headed by Sufis.
- (historical) One of the followers of Muhammad Ahmad, the Mahdi of the Sudan, in the 1880s.
- (by extension) Any irregular guerrilla fighter resembling the Sudanese Mahdi in equipment, uniform, tactics, etc.
- 1926, T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, New York: Anchor, published 1991, page 104:
- The Hejaz war, meanwhile, would be one of dervishes against regular troops.
Derived terms
editTranslations
editSufi ascetic
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Anagrams
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- English terms derived from Ottoman Turkish
- English terms derived from Persian
- English terms derived from Middle Persian
- English 2-syllable words
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- en:People
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