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fedayee

American  
[fe-dah-yee] / fɛ dɑˈji /

noun

  • fedayeen
    plural
  1. a member of an Arab commando group operating especially against Israel.


fedayee British  
/ fəˈdɑːjiː /

noun

  1. (sometimes capital) (in Arab states) a commando, esp one fighting against Israel

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of fedayee

1950–55; < dialectal Arabic fidāʾī (plural fidāʾīyīn ) one who sacrifices himself (especially for his country)

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

We forced the fedayeen out of the Baghdad University Law School, and got to see it reopen.

From Newsweek Mar. 22, 2015

In their dash for Baghdad, American forces had bypassed many fedayeen militias, in the belief that they would “die on the vine” when Saddam was overthrown.

From Salon Feb. 23, 2014

In actuality, the fedayeen ultimately survived to fight another day.

From Salon Feb. 23, 2014

In an all-night session at the palace, he and Hussein hammered out a ten-point pact, mostly favorable to the fedayeen.

From Time Magazine Archive

Abdel Nasser had been trying hard to stop the fighting between the government of Jordan and the Palestinian freedom fighters we called fedayeen when he had a heart attack and died.

From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat

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