dervish
- a member of any of various Muslim ascetic orders, as the Sufis, some of which carry on ecstatic observances, such as energetic dancing and whirling or vociferous chanting or shouting.
Origin of dervish
Examples from the Web for dervish
Contemporary Examples of dervish
His earthliness places him not among those larger-than-life kind of heroes, but among the humble, quiet ones—a dervish hero.
A Friend’s Tribute to Ambassador Chris Stevens: The Diplomatic Indiana JonesRoya Hakakian
September 13, 2012
Historical Examples of dervish
So he done it, and they separated and the dervish started off again with his forty.
Tom Sawyer AbroadMark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
And this time the thing he wanted was to get the dervish to rub some of the salve on his other eye.
Tom Sawyer AbroadMark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
Which is a mortal task for the Dervish in the presence of the Enchantress.
The Book of KhalidAmeen Rihani
There, the Dervish is thrown into the cauldron along with the magic herbs.
The Book of KhalidAmeen Rihani
And here, the hospitality of the Dervish does not belie his Arab blood.
The Book of KhalidAmeen Rihani
dervish
- a member of any of various Muslim orders of ascetics, some of which (whirling dervishes) are noted for a frenzied, ecstatic, whirling dance
Word Origin for dervish
Word Origin and History for dervish
1580s, from Turkish dervish, from Persian darvesh, darvish "beggar, poor," hence "religious mendicant;" equivalent of Arabic faqir (cf. fakir). The "whirling dervishes" are just one order among many. Originally dervis; modern spelling is from mid-19c.