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  • pir
    pir
    noun
    a term of respect for the head of a religious group, especially in Pakistan and various areas of the Middle East.
  • Pir
    Pir
    noun
    a title given to Sufi masters

pir

American  
[peer] / pɪər /

noun

Islam.
  1. a term of respect for the head of a religious group, especially in Pakistan and various areas of the Middle East.

  2. a religious instructor, especially in mystical sects.


Pir British  
/ pir /

noun

  1. a title given to Sufi masters

"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

Etymology

Origin of pir

First recorded in 1665–75; from Hindi, Urdu pīr “old man,” from Persian


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:

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

Columns show pir subfamilies and rows show species.

From Nature ● Jan. 24, 2017

Mr Khan was a religious instructor in the Sufi strand of Islam - also known as a pir.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2015

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 Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy) Bird

He claimed to have found the will in the possession of his grandfather, Pir Muhammad, who had dementia when he died.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025

Similar charges were handed down against Pir Danish Ali, 43, who runs a hunting outfitter and guide company in Pakistan.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2023

In Dadu, Noor keeps the same routine as she once did in her village of Gholam Nabi Pir.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 9, 2022

The longest rail tunnel in India, which cuts through the foothills of the Pir Panjal mountain range, opened for a trial run on Thursday, the Hindustan Times reported.

From New York Times ● Dec. 30, 2012

Pir Badshah was a well-to-do farmer of the Bangash tribe, not far from Kohat, and he had married a woman of the Afridi tribe from over the border, called Margilarri, or “the Pearl.”

From Among the Wild Tribes of the Afghan Frontier A Record of Sixteen Years' Close Intercourse with the Natives of the Indian Marches by T. L. (Theodore Leighton) Pennell

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