a term of respect for the head of a religious group, especially in Pakistan and various areas of the Middle East.
a religious instructor, especially in mystical sects.
First recorded in 1665–75; from Hindi, Urdu pīr “old man,” from Persian
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Columns show pir subfamilies and rows show species.
From Nature • Jan. 24, 2017
Columns show pir subfamilies and rows show species.
From Nature • Jan. 24, 2017
Subfamilies were ordered by size, species were ordered for clarity. pir genes in rodent-infective species fall into a small number of well-defined families.
From Nature • Jan. 24, 2017
Subfamilies were ordered by size, species were ordered for clarity. pir genes in rodent-infective species fall into a small number of well-defined families.
From Nature • Jan. 24, 2017
Near the imamzada of Sahid is a burial-ground, rendered holy by the dust of a pir or saint who lies there.
From Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume II (of 2) Including a Summer in the Upper Karun Region and a Visit to the Nestorian Rayahs by Bird, Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
